Fabricated citations: an audit across 2·5 million biomedical papers

The Lancet 2026 Open access

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Authors: Maxim Topaz, Nir Roguin, Pallavi Gupta, Zhihong Zhang, Laura-Maria Peltonen
DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(26)00603-3
Cited by: 43
References: 8

Abstract

Scientific literature depends on the integrity of its references. Each reference implicitly asserts that a verifiable source exists and supports the claims being made. When references point to non-existent studies, readers, reviewers, and policy makers are unable to evaluate the evidence.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Academic Writing and Publishing Academic Publishing and Open Access scientometrics and bibliometrics research

Publication details

Journal / source
The Lancet
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
407
Issue
10541
Pages
1779–1781
Publication date
1 May 2026
Language
EN