Scientific Publishing Swamped by Fraud as Paper Mills Run Rampant

NEW YORK, NY - August 4, 2025 A New York Times investigation reveals a growing crisis: commercial “paper mills” are flooding scholarly journals with fabricated or substandard studies, overwhelming peer review systems while putting scientific integrity at risk.

Paper mills are for‑profit operations that fabricate entire research studies or sell author slots to customers—often without legitimate data—charging anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per manuscript. Experts estimate that paper mill output now comprises 2 %–20 % of published papers in high‑pressure fields like biomedical science—amounting to hundreds of thousands of suspect articles

Major publishers have responded: Taylor & Francis suspended submissions to its journal Bioengineered, which is now under investigation for roughly 1,000 problematic papers showing signs of manipulation or fraud . Meanwhile, journal closures are on the rise—Wiley shut down 19 publications tied to fraudulent activity.

The consequences extend far beyond wasted ink. Fraudulent findings undermine genuine research—especially in lifesaving fields like cancer or medicine—and can mislead policymakers and clinicians. Moreover, collaborators on tainted papers may face reputational and career setbacks, even if uninvolved in the misconduct.

To combat the threat, researchers advocate for reforms: widespread deployment of fraud‑detecting tools, enhanced peer review protocols, transparent retraction practices, and collective “metascience” efforts to audit published work.

*Sources: *https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/science/04hs-science-papers-fraud-research-paper-mills.html