IEEE retracts record 1,417 papers linked to paper mills in single day
The largest bulk retraction by any scholarly publisher follows a study identifying papers sold through social-media advertisements.
What to know
- IEEE retracted 1,417 papers on 23 October—the largest single bulk retraction by any scholarly publisher—after researchers linked them to paper mills selling authorship slots on social media.
- A study by Anna Abalkina's team documented 4,407 advertisements for authorships on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, then matched 2,062 IEEE papers to those adverts; 1,622 have now been retracted.
- Authorship prices ranged from $11–$400 depending on position; 95 of 109 affected IEEE-sponsored conferences took place in India.
- IEEE has now retracted nearly 3,000 papers total in 2026, signaling an aggressive response to paper-mill infiltration of peer-reviewed venues.
The scale of the retraction is impressive and necessary given the size of the paper-mill problem.
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“It is unbelievable. They're so fast.”
Anna Abalkina · Nature News ↗
The retraction reflects economic desperation and pressure on researchers, not just fraud.
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“This sounds funny on the 1mm thick face of it but somewhat along the lines of telephone scammers, I'd guess there's a darker story of economic desperation in the mix.”
Doug_Bostrom · Mastodon ↗
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Scholarly publisherAnna Abalkina Research-integrity researcher, Free University of BerlinGuillaume Cabanac Computer scientist, University of Toulouse
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Nature reports 1,622 of 2,062 flagged papers now retracted; 3,000 IEEE retractions in 2026
Nature's news team cross-checked Abalkina's dataset against the Problematic Paper Screener database and found that 1,622 of the 2,062 papers the study had flagged have now been retracted. Overall, IEEE has retracted nearly 3,000 papers in 2026.
“It is unbelievable. They're so fast.”
— Anna Abalkina -
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“ The team found that, overall, prices for authorship ranged from US$43 to $400 for a first-author slot and $11 to $200 for a last-author slot. The study also shows that of the 109 IEEE-sponsored conferences that published five or more papers matching paper-mill adverts, 95 took place in # India .” “Paper mills are a public market and the offers…
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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This sounds funny on the 1mm thick face of it but somewhat along the lines of telephone scammers, I'd guess there's a darker story of economic desperation in the mix. "The team found that, overall, prices for authorship ranged from US$43 to $400 for a first-author slot and $11 to $200 for a last-author slot." # ScientificIntegrity #…
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The IEEE retracted over 1,400 papers on October 23 because they were found to have been produced by paper mills. https://www. nature.com/articles/d41586-026 -03455-8 # Science # Retractions
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background
IEEE announces retraction in public statement — IEEE issued a statement in New York City on 28 October confirming the retraction after 'irregularities were identified via an external study.' The announcement did not initially identify the affected papers, but Nature's verification confirmed the 1,417 papers matched those flagged by the Abalkina study.
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background
IEEE retracts 1,417 papers in largest single bulk retraction — IEEE pulled 1,417 conference papers on 23 October after conducting a comprehensive review. The retraction notices state the articles 'may have been offered for sale' and violated 'IEEE's publication principles.'
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background
Study identifies 2,062 IEEE papers linked to paper-mill advertisements — Researchers led by Anna Abalkina posted a preprint documenting 4,407 social-media advertisements selling authorships on conference papers, then matched 2,062 IEEE conference papers (published between 2021 and 2026 across 366 proceedings) to those advertised papers. The study found authorship prices ranged from $43–$400 for first-author slots and $11–$200 for last-author slots.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Nature, 8d ago · also Nature News
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first by DongA Science, 8d ago
1 more headline
and 1 smaller piece