Hi all,
Just wanted to add some information that I have from previous discussions outside of the mailing list regarding these poster displays - which I agree represent a concerning cheating development.
The original posters were up at Euston Square when I was there in mid February (the wording was slightly different to the photo posted this morning, so they've clearly been through several iterations). They've also since been spotted at a variety of other London Underground stations.
Another prominent figure associated with academia publicised concerns about the posters shortly afterwards directly to journalists and to London Underground, but was not able to get a commitment at the time to publish the story or to remove the posters. I also had some independent discussions with media contacts around that time, but no one saw this as a big story or new development. I believe, however, that a UK newspaper is likely to feature this now (this is independent to the Radio 4 coverage).
I also spoke to another media source earlier this week who I'm working with for a different cheating based story. He said that the posters were all taken down after the backlash when the PM piece aired, although I haven't been to London to check whether this is true or not.
From my rough estimates, I'd estimate that there were around 50 posters of different sizes up at various London Underground stations (near universities) for a three month campaign. That included at least two iterations of the poster design, presumably indicating some poster replacement too. I don't know what the London Underground advertising pricing is like, but we're talking a substantial financial amount outgoing (and presumably a good return for the company of writing work/money as well). Food for thought for people who still think that contract cheating is a tiny market, or that most students wouldn't consider outsourcing their assignments.
Thanks,
Thomas
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