Predatory journals: Preventive measures for this 21st-century phenomenon

Dear Editor, I read with immense interest the published article in the July-September 2025 issue regarding the persistent problem of predatory journals[1] and would like to discuss a few important preventive measures. The author states that this is a perennial problem,[1] but did not discuss the prevention aspects except just outlining them. Notably, no reference was cited for this point. Also, I strongly disagree with the statement that “there are still no legal measures in place to curb their proliferation.”[1] Given that this issue is a “global phenomenon" and the legal proceedings differ from country to country, it is impractical to address this problem through legal methods.” Hence, I would like to educate the readers regarding the preventive measures suggested previously, and add a few more simple solutions. A recently published Editorial in one of the leading journals of our specialty has suggested five points to identify predatory journals.[2] They are: “1. Discuss with trustworthy colleagues. 2. Avoid responding to unsolicited propositions of publication or reviewing. 3. Follow the ‘Think, Check, Submit’ campaign and only choose journals that follow the editorial process best practices. 4. Choose only journals indexed in recognized databases. 5. Use white lists provided by reliable institutions.”[2] Regarding the first point, I have been guiding and helping my colleagues to identify predatory journals and avoid publishing with them. I will be happy to guide any person willing to take my help. Despite those measures, it is still difficult to identify a predatory journal, as the criteria adopted to label a journal as “predatory” is not uniform. Moreover, it varies from country to country as the article processing charges (APC) would vary based on the economic status, value of the currency, etc. Also, many “legitimate” and “well-indexed” journals publish open access models free of cost in developing countries (“Diamond or Platinum open access”). Hence, “if it is free, you are the product”[2] does not apply to them. Indeed, if there is no APC, then the possibility of any journal being “predatory” is very remote in my opinion. The only caveat is that we need to ensure that it is stated categorically on the journal’s website, and its inclusion in “DOAJ” further assures that it is not predatory. I would like to suggest that researchers focus on the duration of the publisher’s existence as an additional method in the case of doubt. I believe that the majority of the predatory publishing business started in this century- a “21st century phenomenon”. Hence, any journal published by publishers whose existence is more than two decades can most probably be considered “legitimate.” The next step is to analyze and cross-check the journal’s indexation to ensure it further. Ultimately, the experience also plays a major role. Although it was stated “publication cost might exist but never for submission” under the third point (“Think, Check, Submit”),[2] a few journals that charge a minimal amount for submission itself, and APC subsequently in case of acceptance, but are not “predatory” as they are published by some well-reputed publishers existing for many decades. Additionally, I have been observing in the past few years that some articles from “predatory” journals have been cited and included for meta-analysis too, even in a few top journals of our specialty, which is a great concern. I believe that it is the responsibility of the authors to avoid citing such articles in any of their publications because this provides an “indirect approval” to such predatory journals. To conclude, the coordinated approach among scientific societies, research and ethics committees, and universities would pave the long way in attenuating this menace if not abolishing it completely. I hope that the measures already suggested,[2] and the additional points suggested here would help the researchers avoid getting trapped by predatory publishers. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.