#retracted — Public Fediverse posts

Influential study touting #ChatGPT in #education retracted over red flags
“In some cases it appears it was synthesizing very poor quality studies, or mixing together findings from studies that simply cannot be accurately compared due to very different methods, populations, and samples,” Williamson told Ars. “It really seemed like a paper that should not have been published in the first place.”
#Retracted study on ChatGPT in education was already cited hundreds of times. https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/05/influential-study-touting-chatgpt-in-education-retracted-over-red-flags/

From arXiv: “Do Large Language Models Know Which Published Articles Have Been #Retracted?” No, #authors, it doesn’t appear that they do, so using #LLMs to produce your research paper’s reference list doesn’t decrease your chances of citing #faulty #research. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.16872

ONLY *8 years after* a court case revealed that #Monsanto employees ghostwrote a research article on weed killer Roundup's "safety" for humans was the article #retracted! Damn! The US exists solely for #corporations and #wealthy people to make boatloads of money at the expense of everyone else's #health. 💰💰💰💰

https://retractionwatch.com/2025/12/04/glyphosate-safety-article-retracted-elsevier-monsanto-ghostwriting/

📰 | #Retracted: Die Frass-Studie „#Homöopathie bei #Lungenkrebs“ ist zurückgezogen worden

Vor zwei Wochen haben wir schon darauf hingewiesen – jetzt ist es soweit:
Das renommierte Fachjournal The Oncologist hat die Skandal-Studie zum „Überleben von Lungenkrebspatienten mit homöopathischer Komplementärbehandlung“ (#Frass et al. 2020) zurückgezogen.

Bernd Harder stellt im #SkeptixBlog innerlich den Gin kalt. Kalt genug ist es ja.

https://skeptix.org/2025/11/25/retracted-die-frass-studie-homoeopathie-bei-lungenkrebs-ist-zurueckgezogen-worden/

#TheOncologist

#Science #authors and #editors, you need to know about this #problem with #ChatGPT: If authors use ChatGPT & end up #citing #retracted #research #papers, that reduces their own papers' believability & usefulness. https://cen.acs.org/policy/publishing/ChatGPT-tends-ignore-retractions-scientific/103/web/2025/08

H/T to @grammargirl's AI Sidequest, issue 78.

🚫☄️ #Retracted: The controversial (if not to say: obscure) paper on a "Tunguska sized airburst [that allegedly] destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle #BronzeAge city in the Jordan Valley" has been finally retracted by @nature Sci Rep after several corrections & strong criticism:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97778-3

From the Retraction Watch blog: “The International Wound #Journal has #retracted 242 papers so far this year as part of an ongoing investigation into manipulated #peer #review.” https://retractionwatch.com/2025/03/31/wiley-international-wound-journal-retracts-over-200-more-papers/

“International Wound Journal, a Wiley title, has #retracted 27 papers since June with notices mentioning ‘manipulated’ or ‘compromised’ #peer #review.” https://retractionwatch.com/2024/12/03/wiley-medical-journal-retracts-dozens-of-paper-for-manipulated-peer-review-with-more-to-come/

Because so many #science #journal #articles are #retracted, authors of a recent study on patterns behind #retractions say in part that there is a "need for better #dissemination of retraction notices & greater #transparency in the retraction process." https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(24)14651-8 #AmEditing

Exclusive: the papers that most heavily cite retracted studies https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02719-5 “We are just observing that in some bibliographies, the references have been #retracted or withdrawn, meaning that the paper may be unreliable,” Cabanac says. He calls his tool a #FeetofClay Detector, referring to an analogy, originally from the Bible, about statues or edifices that collapse because of their weak clay foundations.”

This "news" is circulating pretty much in the ponds of the Daily Fail and other yellow journalism, and that of the NCR and other hard theistic outlets.
And in suspicious timing, they've also almost simultaneously "broken" "news" of David Rolfe's supposed Shroud-based conversion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHgqkP-Nws4

#ShroudOfTurin #Jesus #relics #Catholic #Christianity #research #retracted #tabloids #hereWeGoAgain

Egregious examples of #artificial #intelligence that have recently made their way into #scientific #journals, shine a light on the wave of 💥AI-generated text and images washing over the academic publishing industry.💥

Several experts who track down problems in studies told AFP that the rise of AI has turbocharged the existing problems in the multi-billion-dollar sector.

All the experts emphasized that AI programs such as ChatGPT can be a helpful tool for writing or translating papers—if thoroughly checked and disclosed.

But that was not the case for recent cases that somehow snuck past peer review, such as:
🔹An infographic of a rat with a preposterously large penis.
🔹Another showing human legs with way too many bones.
🔹An introduction that starts: "Certainly, here is a possible introduction for your topic".

It is not always so easy to spot the use of AI.
-- But one clue is that ChatGPT tends to favor certain words.

Andrew Gray, a librarian at University College London, trawled through millions of papers searching for the overuse of words such as #meticulous, #intricate or #commendable.

He determined that at least
💥60,000 papers involved the use of AI in 2023
—over one percent of the annual total.

"For 2024 we are going to see very significantly increased numbers," Gray told AFP.

Meanwhile, more than
⭐️13,000 papers were #retracted last year, by far the most in history, according to the US-based group Retraction Watch.

AI has allowed the bad actors in scientific publishing and academia to "industrialize the overflow" of "#junk" papers, Retraction Watch co-founder Ivan Oransky told AFP.

Such bad actors include what are known as #paper #mills.

These "scammers"
♦️sell authorship to researchers, pumping out vast amounts of very poor quality, plagiarized or fake papers, said Elisabeth Bik, a Dutch researcher who detects scientific image manipulation.

Two percent of all studies are thought to be published by paper mills,
but the rate is "exploding" as AI opens the floodgates, Bik told AFP.

This problem was highlighted when academic publishing giant Wiley purchased troubled publisher Hindawi in 2021.

Since then, the US firm has retracted more than 11,300 papers related to special issues of Hindawi, a Wiley spokesperson told AFP.

Wiley has now introduced a "paper mill detection service" to detect AI misuse—which itself is powered by AI.

https://phys.org/news/2024-08-junk-ai-scientific-publishing.html

https://www.cureus.com/articles/196275-increased-age-adjusted-cancer-mortality-after-the-third-mrna-lipid-nanoparticle-vaccine-dose-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-japan/retraction#!/ “#RETRACTED "Increased Age-Adjusted Cancer Mortality After the Third #mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle Vaccine Dose During the #COVID19 Pandemic in Japan" Fukushima et al.

Meanwhile in the #Science and #Academia research world, yet another retraction. This time we’re talking about the most cited paper ever to be retracted. Whomp whomp.
“Nature retracts highly cited 2002 paper that claimed adult stem cells could become any type of cell” | #StemCells #ScientificIntegrity #ScientificPublishing #retracted https://retractionwatch.com/2024/06/18/nature-retracts-highly-cited-2002-paper-that-claimed-adult-stem-cells-could-become-any-type-of-cell/

And just for the record & conspiracy mythologists in the back: No, #retracted does not mean #surpressed.

The paper's still there, openly accessible for everybody - it's just made clear now that the research presented does not correspond scientific standards.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/arp.1912

Three "#junkscience" #abortionpill #studies were just #retracted. Will the #SupremeCourt notice?

“I hope that this will make people more careful about when they #cite #studies," one #lawyer told #Salon

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #WomensRights #Abortion #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Misogyny #ThePartyOfHate
https://www.salon.com/2024/02/08/three-junk-science-abortion-pill-studies-were-just-retracted-will-the-notice/

@jacomyma @tito

Indeed.

Here's an example of the nightmare authors face when they realise a "bug" (here a biochemical one) and put a lot of efforts in making things right.

"the whole #paper is wiped from the record once it is #retracted, including the bits that are still valid and useful."

This is more than 10 years ago, but I fear this hasn't much improved for most #scientificPublishers.

#scientificPublishing @academicchatter

https://retractionwatch.com/2013/10/29/data-artifact-claims-two-fruit-fly-papers-from-leading-uk-group-who-offer-model-response/

"IOP Publishing donated 100% of the money it received from #retracted papers this year, and plans to do the same each year, a spokesperson said"

@academicchatter

https://retractionwatch.com/2023/12/29/publisher-donating-author-fees-from-retracted-articles-to-charity/

The #legendary #lesbian #swimmer has #changedhermind on #trans #people's #Inclusion in #sports

Iconic #lesbian #swimmer #DianaNyad #retracted #Transphobic #comments she made previously about #trans #women in #sports in a recent #interview with #outmagazine

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Entertainment #Sports #Allies #Inclusion #Representation #Culture

https://diva-magazine.com/2023/12/11/diana-nyad-trans-people-in-sports/

"#RapidOnsetGenderDysphoria" Republished In #JunkScience #Journal With A #Shady #Record.

A paper about "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria," #retracted in March, was #republished in a #journal with a shady record. #Major #antitrans #accounts celebrated this as a "#victory."

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #JunkScience #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Hategroups #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-republished

"#RapidOnsetGenderDysphoria" Republished In #JunkScience #Journal With A #Shady #Record.

A paper about "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria," #retracted in March, was #republished in a #journal with a shady record. #Major #antitrans #accounts celebrated this as a "#victory."

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #JunkScience #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Hategroups #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-republished

"#RapidOnsetGenderDysphoria" Republished In #JunkScience #Journal With A #Shady #Record.

A paper about "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria," #retracted in March, was #republished in a #journal with a shady record. #Major #antitrans #accounts celebrated this as a "#victory."

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #JunkScience #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Hategroups #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-republished

"#RapidOnsetGenderDysphoria" Republished In #JunkScience #Journal With A #Shady #Record.

A paper about "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria," #retracted in March, was #republished in a #journal with a shady record. #Major #antitrans #accounts celebrated this as a "#victory."

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #JunkScience #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Hategroups #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-republished

"#RapidOnsetGenderDysphoria" Republished In #JunkScience #Journal With A #Shady #Record.

A paper about "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria," #retracted in March, was #republished in a #journal with a shady record. #Major #antitrans #accounts celebrated this as a "#victory."

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #JunkScience #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Hategroups #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-republished

Gasp, Nature (Scientific Reports) has actually #RETRACTED - which rarely happens - the paper making wild claims about an #airburst destroying the #Hopewell culture: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41237-8 (one co-author concurs with the decision, all the others have clammed up).

Poor visibility of #retracted articles: a problem that should no longer be ignored

👉 Christophe Boudry and colleagues call for better identification of #retractedarticles on publishers’ websites and academic databases to avoid propagating scientific error

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072929

#retractions #research #publishing #ethics #integrity #citations

Poor visibility of #retracted articles: a problem that should no longer be ignored

👉 Christophe Boudry and colleagues call for better identification of #retractedarticles on publishers’ websites and academic databases to avoid propagating scientific error

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072929

#retractions #research #publishing #ethics #integrity #citations

Poor visibility of #retracted articles: a problem that should no longer be ignored

👉 Christophe Boudry and colleagues call for better identification of #retractedarticles on publishers’ websites and academic databases to avoid propagating scientific error

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072929

#retractions #research #publishing #ethics #integrity #citations

Poor visibility of #retracted articles: a problem that should no longer be ignored

👉 Christophe Boudry and colleagues call for better identification of #retractedarticles on publishers’ websites and academic databases to avoid propagating scientific error

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072929

#retractions #research #publishing #ethics #integrity #citations

Poor visibility of #retracted articles: a problem that should no longer be ignored

👉 Christophe Boudry and colleagues call for better identification of #retractedarticles on publishers’ websites and academic databases to avoid propagating scientific error

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072929

#retractions #research #publishing #ethics #integrity #citations

My latest #ResearchIntegrity blog post for Cancer Research UK is now live:

https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2023/05/03/research-with-integrity-referencing-work-is-way-more-than-just-a-tick-box-exercise/

In it I highlight some useful tools from Retraction Watch which can help #researchers avoid the accidental #citation of #retracted #papers, and I reflect on citation as an active choice - rather than a passive one - that can have an #EDI aspect

#ChineseCensorship Is Quietly Rewriting the #Covid19 Story. Under government pressure, #ChineseScientists have #retracted studies and #withheld or #DeletedData. The #censorship has stymied efforts to understand the #virus. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/chinese-censorship-is-quietly-rewriting-the-covid-19-story/

#ChineseCensorship Is Quietly Rewriting the #Covid19 Story. Under government pressure, #ChineseScientists have #retracted studies and #withheld or #DeletedData. The #censorship has stymied efforts to understand the #virus. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/chinese-censorship-is-quietly-rewriting-the-covid-19-story/

#ChineseCensorship Is Quietly Rewriting the #Covid19 Story. Under government pressure, #ChineseScientists have #retracted studies and #withheld or #DeletedData. The #censorship has stymied efforts to understand the #virus. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/chinese-censorship-is-quietly-rewriting-the-covid-19-story/

#ChineseCensorship Is Quietly Rewriting the #Covid19 Story. Under government pressure, #ChineseScientists have #retracted studies and #withheld or #DeletedData. The #censorship has stymied efforts to understand the #virus. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/chinese-censorship-is-quietly-rewriting-the-covid-19-story/

#COVID vaccinations are safe and save lives.

Remember that study from January by an #MSU economist named #Skidmore that purported to find a huge number of excess deaths due to COVID vaccines?

It's been #retracted.

COVID #vaccination is safe and effective.

Story: https://www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com/2023/04/the-study-anti-vaxxers-love-to-cite-has-been-retracted/

Retraction: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37041482/

Consensus of the Most Likes: a paper is about to be #retracted but will that shift public opinion?

“Some readers noted seemingly disqualifying flaws in the methods…which included a survey funded by an anti-vaccine advocate...But their concerns were largely drowned out by Twitter and Substack accounts with collective followings in the millions who cheered the finding”

https://www.chronicle.com/article/this-questionable-study-caught-fire-in-anti-vaccine-circles-how-did-it-get-through-peer-review

So the paper with letter T instead of error bars got #retracted earlier in December:
https://retractionwatch.com/2022/12/22/that-paper-with-the-t-error-bars-was-just-retracted/

Thinking of this I came to realisation that I'm never going back into #academia (would not actually be that surprising for a professional #editor to go back, happens a lot). The reason?

Because I couldn't stop thinking that I would've done it better #OverlyHonestEditor

Which is also to say: don't try to trick me. I know where all the bodies are buried.

#Editors, you can get notifications from #ReferenceManagement #software when #science & #medical #research articles have been #retracted. Details in the links in the paragraph here that begins "Our list of retracted or withdrawn...": https://retractionwatch.com/2022/11/26/weekend-reads-what-should-happen-to-a-paper-by-theranos-diederik-stapel-continues-to-be-cited-a-scientist-accused-of-hiding-china-ties-wins-2-million/ .