Investigative journalism can be compared to putting together a puzzle. You start with a bunch of pieces scattered around and gradually they are put together to create a picture.
In any democratic society the role of watchdog journalism is vital. It is able to bring people to justice, exposing corruption and abuses of power. This type of reporting such as Upton Sinclair’s expose on the meatpacking business to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovering Watergate and Watergate, has had a major impact.
Fake Academic Credentials
Millions of people around world purchase fake academic credentials. From a lone entrepreneur with an printer in New York City’s Chinatown to an online order-ready business, the world of fake diplomas is both diverse and expanding.
Degree mills, once was the sole domain of small-scale operators who would make certificates on their kitchen tables and selling them on matchbook covers, are now modernized with slick websites, chat rooms, edu suffixes on their domain names, as well as fake accreditation bodies that use rigid, yet undefined standards. The billion-dollar industry allows you to get a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate without ever attending classes, taking tests, or doing any work.
It’s also simple to fake a college transcript in order to acquire one of these fake degrees. If you are arrested, it’s a white collar crime that can result in the possibility of jail time.
Marketplace and former FBI agent Allen Ezell teamed up to purchase a fake degree from Almeda University. This online school offered an PhD of biblical counseling. Lack who was able to use an alias over the phone, offered Almeda University backstory and qualified to receive the degree after submitting certain qualifications.
Diploma Mills Investigation
Experts believe that the fake diploma industry is worth around a billion dollars. Marketplace looked into one of the biggest players Axact, a factory in Pakistan called Axact through analyzing business records, analyzing the customer’s information, and comparing social media profiles. In the end, we found many Canadians who may have purchased degrees from this fake school.
There are laws that prevent the selling and misrepresentation of fraudulent credentials, it is still difficult to pursue diploma mills. This thorny issue has attracted the attention of UNESCO as well as the FBI and federal prosecutors, the Department of Education, the Federal Trade Commission and education ministries around the world. But it remains a challenge for investigators to find them out, even with the assistance of a growing number of watchdog organizations.
Moreover, many of these fake schools use names that are eerily similar to those of legitimate institutions. It is often difficult to detect them through an background check. Professional background screeners use their training and are detectives to detect warning signs in the applicant’s educational history.
Other indicators that diploma mills are a fraud include a name that is suspiciously similar and a address or website which does not mention the university’s location. University visits, such as those journalists made to New World Mission Dunamis International University, Cape Town, and Northern Ireland Institute of Business Technology, Belfast, are important steps in exposing diploma mills.
Integrity of Qualifications and Qualifications
Investigative journalism is a craft that requires a lot of perseverance and a deep knowledge of how to find patterns and anomalies. Investigative journalism requires a variety of capabilities, including document analysis, anonymity and recorded interviews and subscription-based tools for research, etc. It’s typically a labor-intensive and slow work, but can expose the truth about powerful corporations, criminals, politicians and even governments accountable for their actions.
Marketplace For instance, the Marketplace looked into the largest diploma mill of Axact and uncovered records of business. They also compared customer data to determine if customers were interested in purchasing fake degrees. The team also visited the locations of fake universities such as New World Mission Dunamis International University in South Africa and Northern Ireland Institute of Business Technology in London to verify their legitimacy and to see how they operate.
Gollin clarifies that diploma mills have a dual effect: they lower the value of legitimate degrees that students earn after investing years and thousands pounds to achieve. They also expose the public to danger when professionals such as engineers and doctors do not have the right education.
This is the reason why investigative journalism is so crucial. Whether it’s the Watergate scandal that shook America or the recent Nobel Peace Prize winners Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their fight for freedom of expression in Russia and the Philippines, it has the power to reveal corruption and help make our world a more secure place.
Counterfeit Degrees Exposed
Globally, the fake degree business is believed to be worth $7 billion per year. It is believed that the phenomenal expansion of this business is due to how easy it is for people to obtain fake diplomas and visit here https://lambang-toanquoc.com/. The industry also flourishes because people are eager to make money and work, so they lie on their resumes and apply fake degrees, even though it is often dangerous for them.
The financial gain motive behind degree mills is one of the primary reason for them to remain in operation even in the face of growing scrutiny from authorities. False universities can offer thousands of degrees each year with a relatively low cost of overhead, as the scammers can produce degrees inexpensively by using computer software and outsourcing their actual staffing to overseas suppliers. These fake schools even advertise in legitimate newspapers and magazines including the Economist USA Today, Forbes, Psychology Today, Discover, Investors Business Daily, and regional editions of Time and Newsweek.
Declan Walsh, an investigative journalist who exposed the Axact fake degree business recently shared documents he uncovered in his investigation with journalists all over the world. They included scans of registration forms for mailboxes owned by Belford High School in Texas and California and Belford University, as well as an official letter from the International Accreditation Organization and screenshots from the Axact’s internal publication. Several of these documents were used by the BBC in the production of the documentary File on 4: Degrees of Deception, which is airing this week on the Radio 4 show, ‘File on Four’.
