During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian botanist Gláucia Silva developed a teaching method that incorporated music videos by American singer Taylor Swift, featuring plant-themed imagery, to address “plant blindness”—the common tendency to overlook plants in daily surroundings. Silva's approach, which leveraged Swift’s videos to support student engagement with botanical subjects, was the focus of a 2025 study that concluded the technique promoted “meaningful learning.”

However, a controversy emerged after Professor Joaquín Moreno of Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH) in Spain began applying the same method in his classes without crediting Silva or the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), where she works. While UFRN formally recognized Silva as the developer of the technique, UMH initially presented Moreno’s use of the method as an independent innovation.

Moreno has since issued an apology for the oversight. Silva indicated that she sought to resolve the issue privately prior to UFRN’s formal involvement, which led to accusations of academic plagiarism against Moreno. The disagreement has reportedly escalated to the point where legal action is being considered, according to reports.

The dispute arrives amid heightened international attention on academic integrity and intellectual property in educational contexts. Taylor Swift, whose plant-adorned music videos inspired the original teaching method, has not publicly commented on the situation. She is currently preparing for her upcoming wedding to Travis Kelce set to take place on July 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York.