Preprints.org (MDPI) and Research Square
From Beneficial Arthropods to Soil-Dwelling Organisms: A Review on Millipedes (Preprints.org 202306.1339; reposted on Research Square as rs-3257909)
Withdrawn · 25 June 2023
What was fabricated
References & studies. The manuscript carried a reference list of 129 entries. Five references examined at random by Professor David Richard Nash (University of Copenhagen), alerted by millipede taxonomist Henrik Enghoff, were all fictitious. Retraction Watch reported that the revised list on the repost still mostly consisted of fictitious papers. The total number of fabricated references is not established.
What happened as a result
Two withdrawals of the same work by two platforms. (1) Preprints.org (MDPI): withdrawal statement dated 25 June 2023, six days after posting on 19 June 2023; Preprints.org's Lloyd Shu told Retraction Watch: "We will withdraw it immediately and add the authors of this preprint to our blacklist." (2) Research Square, where the authors reposted a revised version on 25 August 2023: withdrawn on 31 August 2023, six days later. Its notice reads: "The full text of this preprint has been withdrawn by Research Square due to the presence of fake citations."
Sources
- https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202306.1339
- https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3257909/v1
- https://retractionwatch.com/2023/07/07/publisher-blacklists-authors-after-preprint-cites-made-up-studies/
- https://retractionwatch.com/2023/09/01/withdrawn-ai-written-preprint-on-millipedes-resurfaces-causing-alarm/
- https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Mawcha-et-al-2023.pdf
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