#ResearchIntegrity

A sweeping new analysis of more than 1.1 million scientific papers and preprints finds that the use of large language models (LLMs) to write or edit manuscripts rose sharply after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, with roughly 22.5% of computer science abstracts showing statistical signs of LLM modification by September 2024. The study applied a word‑frequency model trained to detect subtle linguistic fingerprints left by AI tools, and it uncovered fast-growing use across many fields — a trend that poses practical questions for research integrity, peer review and academic practice in Thailand as research institutions and journals grapple with both the promise and the pitfalls of generative AI.

Researchers warn that organised scientific fraud now acts like an industry. (How bad science is becoming big business)

This trend threatens trust in evidence used in health and education. (How bad science is becoming big business)

The problem goes beyond lone bad actors. (How bad science is becoming big business)

Paper mills now sell fake papers and authorships as commercial products. (How bad science is becoming big business)

Brokerage services guarantee publication for a fee in some cases. (How bad science is becoming big business)

A sophisticated network of academic fraud now operates like a commercial enterprise, putting Thailand’s research credibility and public health at unprecedented risk

Scientific misconduct has evolved beyond isolated incidents of researcher dishonesty into a thriving global industry that threatens to undermine decades of progress in evidence-based medicine and education policy. Leading research integrity experts warn that Thailand’s academic institutions now face an existential challenge that could compromise everything from hospital treatment protocols to national education strategies.

A landmark study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences warns that organised scientific fraud — from “paper mills” and brokers to hijacked journals and paid authorships — is expanding faster than legitimate scholarly output, posing a serious threat to the credibility of science worldwide and raising urgent questions for Thailand’s universities and research funders. The analysis finds networks of actors producing and laundering fraudulent papers at scale, with compromised subfields showing dramatically higher retraction rates and evidence that fake publications may be doubling at a pace that outstrips honest research growth ((PNAS study); (Northwestern news release); (New York Times summary)).

When academic careers depend on publication counts and research funding hinges on scholarly output, what happens when an entire underground economy emerges to sell fake science? A groundbreaking investigation published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals a disturbing reality: organized scientific fraud networks are expanding faster than legitimate research, creating an existential crisis for academic integrity that directly threatens Thailand’s scientific credibility and public welfare.

The comprehensive analysis documents how sophisticated “paper mills” and criminal brokers have industrialized academic deception, manufacturing fraudulent research at unprecedented scale. These operations don’t just produce isolated fake studies—they systematically contaminate entire research fields through coordinated networks that researchers from Northwestern University describe as “essentially criminal organizations acting together to fake the process of science.” For Thailand’s rapidly expanding university sector, this represents both an immediate warning and a critical opportunity to protect the nation’s scientific reputation.

A major new analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that “sophisticated global networks” are systematically undermining academic publishing by pushing fraudulent papers into journals at industrial scale — and doing so faster than science can contain them. The researchers find that suspected “paper mill” submissions are doubling every 18 months, far outpacing the overall growth of legitimate research, which doubles roughly every 15 years. The authors warn that without urgent reforms, parts of the scientific literature risk becoming “completely poisoned,” a scenario with direct implications for Thai universities and national research priorities. The study’s key findings and expert warnings were first reported by Times Higher Education, which underscores that existing systems to combat misconduct are struggling to keep up with an increasingly organized underground industry of fake science built on collusion, image manipulation and “journal hopping” to evade detection (Times Higher Education).

Sophisticated global criminal networks are systematically corrupting academic publishing at unprecedented scales, producing fraudulent research papers faster than legitimate science can be published, according to groundbreaking analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reveals Thailand already experiencing direct consequences from this academic contamination. The Northwestern University-led research team documented that suspected “paper mill” submissions are doubling every 18 months while genuine research output doubles only every 15 years, creating what researchers warn could “completely poison” entire scientific fields unless urgent systemic reforms are implemented immediately. This industrial-scale academic fraud directly threatens Thailand’s national research priorities and university advancement systems, with recent domestic investigations uncovering extensive paper-purchasing networks spanning dozens of Thai institutions and resulting in faculty dismissals across multiple universities. The study’s findings, extensively reported by Times Higher Education, demonstrate that existing misconduct detection systems are fundamentally inadequate against increasingly organized underground industries built on sophisticated collusion, image manipulation, and “journal hopping” strategies designed to evade traditional enforcement mechanisms.

An alarming new analysis has revealed that scientific fraud is no longer the isolated work of rogue researchers, but is instead now driven by large, organized networks—effectively making it an industry that profits from faked data and manipulated publications. According to several recent reports, including a major study published this week and covered by leading outlets such as Science, The New York Times, and The Economist, the scale, sophistication, and commercial reach of fraudulent science has reached unprecedented levels and is undermining trust in legitimate research worldwide (; ; ).

A comprehensive investigation published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has confirmed growing concerns about systematic fraud infiltrating global scientific literature, revealing sophisticated networks of counterfeit research that pose unprecedented threats to medical advancement, technological innovation, and evidence-based policymaking worldwide. The landmark study, conducted by Northwestern University data scientists and highlighted through major international media coverage, exposes coordinated manipulation schemes operating at industrial scale, with implications that extend directly to Thailand’s rapidly developing research infrastructure and academic credibility. As Thai universities and healthcare institutions increasingly rely on international scientific literature to guide critical decisions affecting public health, education policy, and technological development, the integrity of global research becomes essential for protecting Thailand’s citizens and advancing national progress.

A landmark study has confirmed growing fears that fraudulent scientific papers, fueled by shadowy “paper mills,” are increasing at an alarming rate and threatening the very foundations of science. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and highlighted by The New York Times, the analysis reveals sophisticated fraud networks and a rapidly proliferating output of fake or low-quality research papers that could contaminate medical, technological, and social advancements worldwide (nytimes.com).

In a development that closes a contentious chapter in astrobiology and microbiology, the prestigious journal Science has officially retracted the infamous ‘arsenic life’ paper, nearly 15 years after its publication ignited global debate and skepticism. The retraction follows ongoing criticism and failed attempts to replicate the groundbreaking claim that certain bacteria could substitute arsenic for phosphorus in their DNA—a proposal that, if proved true, would have revolutionized our understanding of the building blocks of life.

In a move that has reverberated throughout the global academic community, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has formally withdrawn its support for a widely circulated research paper on artificial intelligence (AI) authored by a former PhD student in its economics program. The paper, titled “Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation,” was first posted to the preprint server arXiv in November 2024 and quickly garnered high-profile attention for purportedly showing how AI can significantly boost scientific discovery and product innovation. However, following a confidential review, MIT has announced it has “no confidence in the provenance, reliability or validity of the data and [has] no confidence in the veracity of the research contained in the paper,” marking a rare and public reversal from one of the world’s top research universities (source).

In a disconcerting revelation, predatory journals appear to be proliferating, despite a notorious experiment intended to expose their unethical practices. The now infamous paper, titled “Get Me Off Your Fckng Mailing List,” was originally submitted as a hoax to highlight the shortcomings of certain academic publications, yet its acceptance underscored a troubling trend that persists today.

To provide some context, the paper repeatedly features the phrase “Get me off your f*cking mailing list” over the span of ten pages. Its straightforward, albeit explicit, statement was accepted for publication back in 2014 by the International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology. The continued operations of such journals have been a growing concern among academics, as they exploit researchers by charging fees for publication without providing rigorous peer review processes.