UC Berkeley professor who slammed students makes embarrassing admission about viral op-ed

Nypost · Aug 20, 2026 · 454 words · By Titus Wu

AI Ethics in Writing Standardized Testing in Admissions Academic Integrity

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What to know about AI Ethics in Writing

UC Berkeley professor who slammed students makes embarrassing admission about viral op-ed See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 7

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

UC Berkeley professor who slammed students makes embarrassing admission about viral op-ed See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on Google A viral op-ed from a UC Berkeley professor claiming she’s forced to teach underprepared college students middle-school math was revealed to be written with some help from artificial intelligence.

Common ground

Professor Zvezdelina Stankova used the op-ed to criticize UC Berkeley’s admission standards and was one of thousands of faculty members who signed open letters earlier this year calling for the restoration of the SAT and ACT in admissions.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this AI Ethics in Writing story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Stankova admitted to the student newspaper, The Daily Californian, that AI was involved in the op-ed process?
How does this story connect AI Ethics in Writing with Standardized Testing in Admissions over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/20/tech/uc-berkeley-professor-who-slammed-admissions-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “Stankova admitted to the student newspaper, The Daily Californian, that AI was involved in the op-ed process.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results confirm that Stankova admitted to the student newspaper, The Daily Californian, that AI was involved in the op-ed process.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching is a national award established in 2003 by the Mathematical Association of America. The award is presented to beginning college or university mathem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_L._Alder_Award

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a partial list of notable Mills College alumnae. It includes alumnae, professors, and others associated with Mills College.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mills_College_people

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Zvezdelina Entcheva Stankova (Bulgarian: Звезделина Енчева Станкова; born 15 September 1969) is a Bulgarian and American mathematician who is a teaching professor of mathematics at the University of C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zvezdelina_Stankova

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “Due to COVID pandemic disruptions and concerns over equity, testing was made optional in 2020, with a court ruling subsequently requiring UC to become test-blind through 2025.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that UC made testing optional in 2020 and that a court ruling required the system to remain test-blind through 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal[a]) is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest pr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Southern_Califor…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of California (UC) is California's system of public research universities. Headquartered in Oakland, the system is composed of ten campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berk…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 3: “and was one of thousands of faculty members who signed open letters earlier this year calling for the restoration of the SAT and ACT in admissions.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm that Stankova co-authored/signed an open letter with thousands of faculty members calling for the reinstatement of admissions testing (SAT/ACT).

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web search NEUTRAL — UC will consider restoring SAT and ACT after faculty warn of worsening math skills.But UC is not expected to decide immediately on whether to reinstate the tests — a delay that some professors who sig…
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/uc-considers-…

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web search NEUTRAL — More than 1,400 University of California faculty have signed an open letter calling on the system to reinstate the ACT or SAT as an admissions requirement for science, technology, engineering or math …
https://unusualwhales.com/news/uc-professors-push-reinstate-…

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 4: “Her article was flagged by the AI detector Pangram as 33% AI-generated or AI-assisted writing, according to the Californian.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the provided evidence confirms the AI use and the admission to the Daily Californian, the specific detail regarding the 'Pangram' detector and the '33%' figure is not present in the provided evidence snippets.

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web search NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

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web search NEUTRAL — Meet Gemini, Google’s AI assistant. Get help with writing, planning, brainstorming, and more. Experience the power of generative AI.
https://gemini.google.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Use ChatGPT to answer questions, write, create images, complete work, and code—all in one place. Get started for free or download the app.
https://chatgpt.com/

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Claim 5: “Professor Zvezdelina Stankova used the op-ed to criticize UC Berkeley’s admission standards”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources explicitly state that Stankova used the op-ed to criticize UC Berkeley's admission standards.

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web search NEUTRAL — Professor Zvezdelina Stankova used the op-ed to criticize UC Berkeley's admission standards and was one of thousands of faculty members who signed open letters earlier this year calling for the ...
https://nypost.com/2026/08/20/tech/uc-berkeley-professor-who…

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web search NEUTRAL — Zvezdelina Stankova says she used AI to 'help edit' an article about some of her students being 'five to eight years' behind A math professor at the University of California, Berkeley ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/19/uc-berkeley-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Professor Zvezdelina Stankova used the op-ed to criticize UC Berkeley's admission standards and was one of thousands of faculty members who signed open letters earlier this year calling for the restor…
https://news.spotlightnews.us/articles/uc-berkeley-professor…

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Claim 6: “A viral op-ed from a UC Berkeley professor claiming she’s forced to teach underprepared college students middle-school math was revealed to be written with some help from artificial intelligence.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that UC Berkeley professor Zvezdelina Stankova admitted to using AI to help edit an op-ed regarding the lack of preparation of her college students.

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web search NEUTRAL — Zvezdelina Stankova says she used AI to ‘help edit’ an article about some of her students being ‘five to eight years’ behind.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/19/uc-berkeley-…

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web search NEUTRAL — as a teaching professor.[12]. Parallel to her work in higher education, Stankova has taught middle and high school students. She founded the Berkeley Math Circle, an after-school math enrichment progr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zvezdelina_Stankova

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 7: “The open letters calling for college admissions tests also apparently used AI to edit, according to a joint statement from professors.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about cricket in England and does not mention the open letters or AI editing.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The India cricket team toured England from June to August 2025 to play the England cricket team. [1] The tour consisted of five Test matches. [2][3] The series formed part of the 2025–2027 ICC World T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_cricket_team_in_England…

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web search NEUTRAL — Full India tour of England, 2026 Schedule, Points Table, Final Teams List, News, Venue Details, Series & Player Stats, Videos for every Indian Premier League 2026 match on Cricbuzz
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/10532/india-tour-of-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The live scorecard for the 2nd ODI between England and India, being played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, is available here. England beat India by 4 wickets. At the moment, England are at 235/6 after 44.…
https://www.indiatoday.in/live-score/cricket/england-india-l…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.