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and , two leading science journals, have revealed a growing problem: an alarming rise in fraudulent research papers produced by shady . This wave of fake studies is creating a major headache for the academic world, putting the integrity of global academic research at risk.

offer authorship services to researchers, academics, and students who want their names listed as an author of a scientific article published in reputable scientific journals.

By paying around (approximately US$197–$5,472), a person can have their name listed as the author of research paper, without having to painstakingly do research and write the results. No doubt, some experts refer to these paper mills as .

a dramatic increase in fraudulent scientific articles traced back to paper mills. In just five years, the numbers of retractions from 10 in 2019 to 2,099 in 2023.

Paper mills have also major scientific journal publishers. , for example, retracted around 1,200 paper mill articles in 2023. and also retracted hundreds of paper mill articles in 2022.

Paper mills are found operating in countries whose research policies incentivize researchers to produce as many scientific articles as possible, such as , , and .

However, their customer profile is quite diverse, from both developed and developing countries, including , , , and .

Based on research data and investigative journalist reports from the last five years, I summarize how these paper mills operate and how to detect them.

The paper mill playbook: Tactics and oddities

1. Problematic articles

Paper mills generally manipulate . These articles usually , contain and stolen data, or include engineered and duplicated images.

They also offer using generative artificial intelligence tools, such as and , or to translate published articles from other languages into English.

2. A promised path to publication

In , paper mills offer authorship slots before an article is accepted for publication.

In other cases, they offer authorship slots after the article is ready to be published by the journal.

Therefore, it is not uncommon for paper mills to sell authorship slots that the article will definitely be published. In fact, according to the conventions generally accepted in the academic community, no well-run journal can .

Publishing decisions are normally made only after editors have considered the feedback from peer reviewers. This means, there is no possibility for a manuscript to secure acceptance before passing the peer review process.

3. Fake reviews and corrupt deals

Paper mills also . For example, they offer services to convince potential buyers that the offered articles have passed rigorous review.

To smooth the way for their operations, some paper mills even operate like a cartel, bribing rogue journal editors to ensure publication. revealed that some scientific journal editors were offered as much as $20,000 to cooperate with these schemes. This investigation resulted in identified as involved in paper mill activities.

4. Unusual collaboration patterns

One of the peculiarities of paper mill articles is its strange mix of authors. , for example, is written by authors who are neither affiliated with institutions in Kazakhstan nor experts in insects or agriculture. The authors' backgrounds are suspiciously heterogeneous, ranging from anesthesia, dentistry, to biomedical engineering.

5. Anonymous co-authors

Prospective customers of paper mill services usually have to agree to the . By agreeing to this rule, buyers have no idea which journal their article will target or who their co-authors will be. Often, the authors listed on the same paper don't even know each other.

Spotting the red flags: how to detect paper mill articles

Detecting scientific articles produced by paper mills often begins with analyzing retraction patterns carried out by journals.

This can be done in two ways: by tracking post-publication peer reviews on platforms like , or by checking the , a website that documents retractions of problematic scientific articles.

However, journals rarely state outright that a retraction is due to paper mill fraud. Instead, articles are typically pulled for reasons like , , , or .

The proportion of scientific articles retracted for being associated with paper mills is much smaller than the estimated total number of paper mill articles currently in circulation.

Retraction Watch data, as of May 2024, 7,275 retractions of articles related to the paper mill out of a total of 44,000 retractions recorded. In fact, it is estimated that up to have infiltrated scientific literature over the past two decades.

Despite significant efforts from and the academic community through organizations such as , a initiated by and , these attempts are barely enough.

How paper mills hurt the public

The —an independent UK charity that offers support to the public, researchers and organizations to promote good academic research practice—estimates that the paper mill industry has gained around $10 million globally.

For example, a Russian paper mill could earn if they sold all the authorship of scientific articles it produced from 2019 to 2021.

In Indonesia, this financial loss directly impacts the public. Public universities rely on the state budget, funded largely by taxpayers, and tuition fees from students to cover operational expenses, including research grants and publication incentives.

Though the exact financial toll of these paper mills is hard to pin down, it is clear that the public are footing the bill for fraudulent research practices, siphoning resources away from genuine academic advancements.

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