Record-breaking retraction: scholarly publisher pulls 1,400 conference papers on one day

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1. 2h ago

   IEEE Retracts 1,417 Papers in Single-Day Record Bulk Action

   The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has withdrawn 1,417 conference papers in a single day, marking the largest bulk retraction by any scholarly publisher. The action follows an integrity review prompted by an independent investigation that uncovered a commercial author-selling scheme. Social media advertisements offered authorship slots for prices starting at $11. Research integrity specialists stated the move addresses severe vulnerabilities in academic publishing, specifically targeting coordinated paper mill operations that exploit technical conference proceedings. Of the total retractions, India was associated with 1,263 of the affected articles.

   Why it matters

   Academic publishing faces mounting scrutiny over commercialized fraud, where illicit networks sell co-authorship slots on fraudulent papers to researchers seeking career advancement. The affected articles represent less than 0.06 percent of the organization's conference publications over a six-year period. Independent studies flagged thousands of potentially compromised papers by connecting social media advertisements to published conference proceedings.

   What is confirmed

   • The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers retracted 1,417 conference papers in a single day following an integrity review.
   • Research integrity specialists told Nature that this is the largest bulk retraction by any publisher.
   • Social media advertisements sold authorship slots for as little as $11.
   • India was associated with 1,263 of the 1,417 retracted papers.
   • The affected articles represent less than 0.06% of the publisher's conference publications over a six-year period.

   What to watch next

   • Further announcements from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers regarding total annual retractions, which could approach 3,000 for the year.
   • Additional investigations into paper mills and social media authorship sales across other scholarly publishers.
   Sources used for this update (17)

   1. github.com — nocache/README at master · Feh/nocache · GitHub
   2. classic.yarnpkg.com — nocache - Yarn
   3. github.com — nocache · GitHub Topics · GitHub
   4. blogs.bing.com — Announcing new options for webmasters to control usage of...
   5. Nature — Record-breaking retraction: scholarly publisher pulls 1,400 conference papers on one day
   6. Retraction Watch — Weekend reads: Mega-journal on hold at PubMed; 1,400 retractions in one day; ‘I Used AI to Fake a Scientific Paper’
   7. Research Information — IEEE retracts approximately 1,400 papers following integrity review
   8. 조선일보 — IEEE Retracts 1,417 Papers in 'Author for Sale' Scheme
   9. DongA Science — IEEE retracts 1,417 conference papers in one day over author-selling scandal
   10. www.nature.com — Record-breaking retraction: scholarly publisher pulls 1,400 ...
   11. heterosis.net — 저자 자리 거래: 학술 출판의 어두운 진실
   12. www.chosun.com — IEEE Retracts 1,417 Papers in 'Paper Mill' Scandal - 조선일보
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