Below is an extract from an article in Science. Full text: https://www.science.org/content/article/scientific-fraud-has-become-indu...
On HIFA we have discussed at length about predatory journals. What is described below is something different but perhaps equally as damaging: paper mills. 'Paper mills are profit-oriented and potentially illegal organisations which produce and sell fabricated or manipulated manuscripts.' https://blog.mdpi.com/2022/05/09/paper-mills/
This phenomenon is clearly a major threat to the integrity of the first two pillars of the global evidence ecosystem: generating and publishing evidence. https://www.hifa.org/about-hifa
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Sophisticated global networks are infiltrating journals to publish fake papers
4 Aug 20253:00 PM ET By Cathleen O’Grady
'For years, sleuths who study scientific fraud have been sounding the alarm about the sheer size and sophistication of the industry that churns out fake publications. Now, an extensive investigation finds evidence of a range of bad actors profiting from fraud. The study, based on an analysis of thousands of publications and their authors and editors, shows paper mills are just part of a complex, interconnected system that includes publishers, journals, and brokers.
'The paper, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, paints an alarming picture. Northwestern University metascientist Reese Richardson and his colleagues identify networks of editors and authors colluding to publish shoddy or fraudulent papers, report that large organizations are placing batches of fake papers in journals, suggest brokers may serve as intermediaries between paper mills and intercepted journals, and find that the number of fake papers—though still relatively small—seems to be increasing at a rate far greater than the scientific literature generally.
'The paper shows that misconduct “has become an industry,” says Anna Abalkina of the Free University of Berlin...
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HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org