New Delhi: On Wednesday, Galgotias University became the focus of a social media backlash after it published full-page advertisements in major Indian newspapers asserting global recognition.
The advertisements, which promoted the university as being "ranked globally" and "committed to making India proud," sparked a surge of online backlash, with users inundating social media with memes and sarcastic comments.
Many people doubted the reliability of these claims, particularly given a viral incident at the India AI summit that had already placed the institution under intense scrutiny. Social media users swiftly ridiculed the campaign. One commenter quipped that the so-called "two top universities" were actually "WhatsApp University and Galgotia University."
Others were more sharply critical, warning of reputational harm, with some saying people now "laugh when they hear the name" and that parents would "think twice before enrolling their children." Several posts also sarcastically linked the university’s academic focus to memes, further amplifying the backlash.
The backlash follows an episode at the summit in Bharat Mandapam, where the university was instructed to remove its stall after claims emerged that a robotic dog showcased as an in-house innovation was, in fact, a commercially available product.
Observers recognized the robot, presented as “Orion,” as the Unitree Go2, a model produced by the Chinese robotics firm Unitree Robotics.
Critics contended that presenting an imported product as a homegrown innovation at a premier national AI event raised significant questions about transparency and credibility.
After reviewing the situation, officials allegedly disconnected electricity to the university’s pavilion after instructing it to leave the expo.
In an interview with DD News at the AI Summit, Professor Neha Singh described the robot as an outcome of the university’s investments in artificial intelligence, stating that it was developed internally and could carry out surveillance and monitoring functions.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by The Bridge Chronicle editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)