October 13, 2025microLife4 citationsOpen Access
Storm over Science: Predatory practices and the fight for research reliability
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Key Points
- Predatory journals significantly undermine the credibility of scientific publishing and research reliability.
- The rise of artificial intelligence-generated content complicates the issue of low-quality research proliferation.
- Structural issues like the publish-or-perish culture contribute to the acceptance of unethical publishing practices.
- A proposed accreditation system aims to restore integrity and prioritize quality in scientific communication.
Abstract
Abstract Scientific publishing faces a credibility crisis driven to a very large extent by predatory journals, paper mills, and exploitative open-access (OA) practices. Structural pressures—publish-or-perish culture, mandatory OA policies, and author publication charges (APC)-driven business models—fuel the proliferation of low-quality or fraudulent research, now exacerbated by artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content. This Opinion, which aligns with a growing clamour from the research community—calls for an international journal accreditation system, guided by a transparent code of conduct and enforced by funding agencies, to restore integrity, prioritize quality over quantity for professional progression, and safeguard trust in scientific communication.
Cite This Study
Lorenzo et al. (2025) studied this question.