This all brings to my mind a situation when I gave an answer to/in a freshman college final exam. During the course of study we had been subject to reading from a variety of writers including news reporters. However, for me most of the assigned reading was from political leftists. The exam question was” What is propaganda?”. My response was to the extent that it was like stuff the prof had made required reading. The prof publicly commented that my answer was very unique in his class experience. However, I did get an A for the course. I had good vibes about the prof.
There was a time when there were many honest professors. I don't know whether there still are or not.
Perhaps your answer opened the professor’s eyes.