The University of Hong Kong (corresponding author's affiliation); retracted by China Population and Development Studies (Springer Nature)
Forty years of fertility transition in Hong Kong — China Population and Development Studies 9:291–314 (DOI 10.1007/s42379-025-00201-x)
Withdrawn · 15 December 2025
What was fabricated
Non-existent publications cited as references. RTHK reported on 17 December 2025 that the University of Hong Kong's investigation substantiated that some citations were non-existent publications generated by AI. A PhD student involved had not disclosed this. The publisher's Retraction Note of 15 December 2025 says it was unable to verify the source of at least 24 references.
What happened as a result
Springer Nature retracted the article on 15 December 2025. An Editor's Note of 14 November 2025 had flagged concerns about reference accuracy, and an investigation under COPE guidelines had begun. On 17 December 2025 RTHK reported the University of Hong Kong's announcement. The corresponding author had stepped down as associate dean and from faculty and university research committees. The PhD student involved faces disciplinary procedures.
Sources
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42379-025-00207-5
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42379-025-00201-x
- https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1836512-20251217.htm
- https://www.hk01.com/article/60292757
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