Predatory Journals

the-scientist.comWhen Reviewer Scarcity Becomes a Reason for Rejection, Scientific Integrity Is at RiskIf journals reject papers due to review shortages, the peer review process itself becomes compromised.

9 Nov 2025

🚨 Peer review crisis alert! When journals reject good science simply because they can’t find enough reviewers, the whole integrity of research is on the line. www.the-scientist.com/when-reviewe... #AcademicPublishing #PeerReview #ResearchIntegrity #SciencePolicy

Predatory Journals reposted

Nature

@nature.com

21 Sept

Artificial-intelligence systems can generate hypotheses, design experiments and analyse data — but humans still need to decide what makes sense go.nature.com/3Vn4WUY

go.nature.comAI co-scientists are revolutionizing how research is doneArtificial-intelligence systems can generate hypotheses, design experiments and analyse data — but humans still need to decide what makes sense.

Predatory Journals reposted

nature.comResearchers who use hallucinated references to face arXiv banThe preprint server is the latest to impose stiff penalties on authors who contribute to AI ‘slop’ — but not everyone is convinced it’s the right approach.

26 May

🚨 Researchers are pushing back against AI-generated “hallucinated” citations in scientific papers and platforms like @arxiv.bsky.social are starting to crack down. ☢️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...

retractionwatch.comElsevier retracts the least and reinstates the most, new analysis findsFrequencies of reasons 10 publishers have given for retracting articles (source). While Elsevier outcompetes other publishers in terms of sheer volume, it also has the lowest retraction rate and hi…

26 May

Predatory Journals reposted

Retraction Watch

@retractionwatch.com

11 May

Elsevier retracts the least and reinstates the most, new analysis finds. The study also found a tenth publisher to be an outlier in terms of reasons for retraction.

voxweb.nl‘Academic fraud may be the symptom of a much more systemic problem’ - Vox magazineOPINION - It is not surprising that a case of scientific fraud occasionally comes to light, according to associate professor Empirical Political Science Alex Lehr. ‘Many of us are doing our stinking b...

15 Apr

‘Academic fraud may be the symptom of a much more systemic problem’ www.voxweb.nl/en/academic-...

Predatory Journals reposted

doi.orgRETRACTED ARTICLE: Bridging the gap: explainable ai for autism diagnosis and parental support with TabPFNMix and SHAP - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - RETRACTED ARTICLE: Bridging the gap: explainable ai for autism diagnosis and parental support with TabPFNMix and SHAP

Another AI-generated, low-quality paper just got retracted from Scientific Reports — and fast. 👀⚠️ The spotlight works: media pressure accelerates corrections. But let’s be honest… there’s still a long queue of questionable studies waiting for action at @springernature.com doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Predatory Journals reposted

theguardian.comScience journal retracts study on safety of Monsanto’s Roundup: ‘Serious ethical concerns’Paper published in 2000 found glyphosate was not harmful, while internal emails later revealed company’s influence

🧪 After 25 years, a landmark study claiming the herbicide Glyphosate (and Roundup) was “safe” has been officially retracted — due to ghost-writing and clear conflicts of interest. What was once scientific “proof” now collapses. #Science #Glyphosate #Retracted ☣️ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Predatory Journals reposted

english.elpais.comThe fall of a prolific science journal exposes the billion-dollar profits of scientific publishingOne of the 15 publications that put out the most studies globally has been expelled from the indexing system for irregularities. Its publisher, Elsevier, has a 38% profit margin that reached $1.5 bill...

8 Dec 2025

⚠️🚨 Science of the Total Environment has been removed from Web of Science in Nov. 2025 after retractions due to review-fraud and quality failures. Its publisher @ElsevierConnect raked in massive profits while “mega-publishing” suspect papers. 🤑🤡 english.elpais.com/science-tech...

8 Dec 2025

9 Nov 2025

@danaipapageorgiou.bsky.social

9 Nov 2025

📉 Niche fields, early-career scholars, and emerging topics risk being sidelined — not for lack of merit, but for lack of reviewers. 🔧 Solution? Expand reviewer pools, give credit to reviewers, increase transparency — science must be evaluated on quality, not logistics.

Predatory Journals reposted

Danai Papageorgiou

2 Oct 2025

This list can really assist peers in avoiding predatory publishers: www.predatoryjournals.org @predatoryjournals.org I have been receiving plenty of generic emails to join editorial boards in MDPI and Frontiers. At exactly the same time, friends receive the same generic emails..

lnkd.inLinkedInThis link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

Predatory Journals reposted

retractionwatch.comSpringer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverageA screenshot from June 26 shows the book had been accessed 3,782 times. Springer Nature is retracting a book on machine learning that had multiple references to works that do not exist, Retraction …

1/6 🚨 Springer Nature is retracting an entire book on machine learning. Why? It was full of plagiarized content, nonsensical claims, and had no proper peer review. 🤮 Retraction Watch: 1 Springer’s credibility: 0

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com

Springer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverage The move comes two weeks after we reported on the book’s fake references.

Predatory Journals reposted

Nature

@nature.com

go.nature.com‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bullyScientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.

Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews go.nature.com/4mXJjn6

link.springer.comEvaluating the visual design of science publications—a quantitative approach comparing legitimate and predatory journal papers - ScientometricsThe rise of predatory publishing poses a significant challenge to the integrity of scientific research, potentially undermining the credibility of scholarly communications. As parts of the academic co...

📄 Study compared ~443 “legit” vs ~555 suspected predatory articles. Predatory ones tend to be shorter, use common office fonts, stick to A4 page size, and show simpler metadata. Visual fingerprints can help spot low-quality journals. 👀 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

🕵️‍♂️ Design isn’t just cosmetic. Visual cues can help flag low-quality or predatory journals—especially when screening large volumes. Content still matters, but the look tells a story too. #OpenScience #ResearchIntegrity

🧐 Predatory articles are statistically: ~half the length (fewer pages & characters) Using “default” fonts (Arial, Calibri) Standard A4 pages, little typographic variety Simpler metadata, less polished

Predatory Journals reposted

theguardian.comScientific publishing needs urgent reform to retain trust in research process | LettersLetters: Readers respond to an article on how too many low-quality papers and journals are being churned out

🧵1: Peer Review Is Cracking. Researchers are churning out papers to survive. Peer reviewers are overwhelmed. Editors chase quantity, not quality. It's not science—it’s a paper factory. Reform is urgent, or public trust will collapse. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Predatory Journals reposted

Retraction Watch

@retractionwatch.com

bostonglobe.comIf Trump wants to eliminate fraud at universities, why gut research integrity agencies? - The Boston GlobeUniversities, journals, regulators all have a role in identifying scientific misconduct.

"If Trump wants to eliminate fraud at universities, why gut research integrity agencies?"

science.orgEstimating the predictability of questionable open-access journalsAI screening of journals identifies over a thousand questionable journals, helping experts review where it is needed most.

🧵1. Predatory journals aren’t just a nuisance—they erode trust in science. A new #AI tool just scanned ~15k journals & flagged over 1k suspicious outlets. Could this be the watchdog science needs? 🧠🔎 #ResearchIntegrity #Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🔥 #ResearchIntegrity #TrustInScience #AcademicTwitter #AIforScience #OpenScience #FakeJournals #PredatoryPublishing #AIethics #ResponsibleAI #FutureOfScience #AIforGood

science.orgEstimating the predictability of questionable open-access journalsAI screening of journals identifies over a thousand questionable journals, helping experts review where it is needed most.

🧵5. This is the future: humans + AI, safeguarding the credibility of research. Because science without trust is just noise. 🌍✨ #AIforGood #AcademicIntegrity #FutureOfScience

science.orgEstimating the predictability of questionable open-access journalsAI screening of journals identifies over a thousand questionable journals, helping experts review where it is needed most.

🧵4. About 24% false positives. Meaning: the AI isn’t a judge—it’s a first line of defense. Humans still need to verify. Think ‘radar’ not ‘verdict.’ 🛰️ #ResponsibleAI #AcademicTwitter

science.orgEstimating the predictability of questionable open-access journalsAI screening of journals identifies over a thousand questionable journals, helping experts review where it is needed most.

🧵3. From ~15,200 journals, the AI flagged 1,400+ as questionable. Over 1,000 raised serious concerns. That’s a LOT of shaky ground for researchers to step on. 😬 #TrustInScience #AIethics

science.orgEstimating the predictability of questionable open-access journalsAI screening of journals identifies over a thousand questionable journals, helping experts review where it is needed most.

🧵2. Instead of reading papers, the AI checks websites: design quality, missing editors, dodgy language, weird citations. It’s not judging content—it’s spotting red flags in the ecosystem. 🚨 #OpenScience #FakeJournals

🧵4: It's time to stop counting publications and start measuring trust, transparency, and societal value. #OpenScience #ReformScience

🧵3: Alternatives exist. Global South Is Leading the Way. Latin America’s @scielo.org and the Diamond OA Alliance prove publishing can be free to read & free to publish. Science doesn’t need billion-dollar intermediaries. It needs public infrastructure and values over volume.

@mikeldelgado.bsky.social

🧵2: Open Access? More Like Open Wallet. OA was supposed to democratize science. Instead, universities now pay up to $10K per article in APCs—feeding publishers with profit margins over 35%. The result? Pay-to-play research and rising global inequality in who gets to publish.

Predatory Journals reposted

Mikel Maria Delgado, PhD

16 July 2025

How science should NOT be done: testing the effects of CBD on cat fear...by scaring the cats so much they urinated...and no IACUC (institutional animal use committee) approval? Why? oh, because it's a predatory MDPI/Animals journal...calling @amcell.bsky.social www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com

Springer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverage The move comes two weeks after we reported on the book’s fake references.

6/6 🧵 Bottom line: 📉 Springer Nature’s latest retraction is a symptom of a bigger crisis in academic publishing. 📚 Just because it’s a book doesn’t mean it’s science. Retractions like this? More are coming.

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com

Springer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverage The move comes two weeks after we reported on the book’s fake references.

5/6 🤖 In the age of AI-generated content, Springer must tighten up or become a publishing landfill. The bar for book publishing should not be lower than journals. But here we are.

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com

Springer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverage The move comes two weeks after we reported on the book’s fake references.

4/6 💸 Why does Springer churn out junk? Because book chapters = easy academic points for authors. It’s a publish-or-perish goldmine — for them, not for science. Scientific rigor? Optional.

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com

Springer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverage The move comes two weeks after we reported on the book’s fake references.

3/6 🔍 Let’s be honest: Many Springer books are glorified PowerPoint decks in hardcover. Poor peer review, low editorial standards, and inflated prices. Academic lipstick on a commercial pig. 🐷📚

Retraction Watch@retractionwatch.com

Springer Nature to retract machine learning book following Retraction Watch coverage The move comes two weeks after we reported on the book’s fake references.

2/6 👀 What triggered the retraction? A Retraction Watch exposé showed the book was riddled with garbage science — from AI "consciousness" ramblings to fabricated equations. Yes, Springer published it anyway. 🤯

Predatory Journals reposted

18 Apr 2025

Parallels between Trump’s government and Orwell’s 1984 are striking: language manipulation, “alternative facts,” and efforts to control public discourse echo Newspeak and reality control from the novel. When leaders rewrite words and history, democracy faces real Orwellian risks. #Trump #Orwell

Predatory Journals reposted

nytimes.comThese Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump AdministrationFederal agencies have issued guidance to employees on hundreds of terms to limit or avoid using. An analysis of government websites shows many of the same words being removed.

18 Apr 2025

These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Predatory Journals reposted

nature.com‘Mind-boggling’: US CDC orders gender-related terms cut from scientific papersMandate from health agency is response to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on ‘woke ideology’ and has big implications for researchers.

18 Apr 2025

‘Mind-boggling’: US CDC orders gender-related terms cut from scientific papers www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Predatory Journals reposted

World Conferences on Research Integrity

@wcrifoundation.bsky.social

15 July 2025

"Detecting fraud ‘is a job for professionals, not peer reviewers’" @elisabethbik.bsky.social #ResearchIntegrity www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

researchprofessionalnews.comDetecting fraud ‘is a job for professionals, not peer reviewers’ - Research Professional NewsIntegrity investigator Elisabeth Bik urges publishers, journals and institutions to take responsibility

Predatory Journals reposted

jamanetwork.comICMJE Should Create a Certification Process to Identify Predatory JournalsTo the Editor A recent Editorial1 by editors representing the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) highlighted the pressing issues surrounding predatory journals. Although the ch...

11 June 2025

🚨 ICMJE should certify legitimate journals to combat the rise of predatory ones? 🔍 Fake journals mimic real ones, trap authors, and pollute science. ✅ A global seal of trust could protect research integrity? 🔗 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... #AcademicPublishing #PredatoryJournals

Predatory Journals reposted

nature.comAuthorship for sale: Nature investigates how paper mills workCompanies selling authorship slots thrive in a culture that equates success with a strong publication record. Customers, sleuths and the shadowy owner of a paper mill explain why.

11 June 2025

💰 Authorship for sale. 🧐 A Nature investigation exposes how paper mills sell fake authorship slots—and corrupt the scientific record. 🧪 Science is being hijacked for a price. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/d41... #AcademicIntegrity #PaperMills #ScienceFraud

Predatory Journals reposted

Nature

@nature.com

8 July 2025

Researchers studying research must avoid the temptation to get too stuck in the academic weeds https://go.nature.com/4eDITPB

go.nature.comMetascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, tooResearchers studying research must avoid the temptation to get too stuck in the academic weeds.

Predatory Journals reposted