{"id":20453,"date":"2026-08-18T01:42:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=20453"},"modified":"2026-08-18T01:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:42:45","slug":"op-ed-science-fraud-is-an-expensive-disaster-damaging-real-science-it-has-to-be-stopped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=20453","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: Science fraud is an expensive disaster damaging real science. It has to be stopped."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Science fraud is an industry. Not even a conspiracy. It\u2019s a cash cow. It produces utter garbage, and it wastes money, time, and resources as fake \u201cresearch\u201d is tested and peer-reviewed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>definition of science fraud according to Gemini <\/strong>is unambiguous:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Recent investigations indicate that what was once isolated academic misconduct has evolved into an industrialized, highly organized global enterprise.<\/em><em\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s happening is that anyone can now be credited with fake scientific credentials based on publications created by \u201cpaper mills\u201d, referring to bogus research papers. Anyone can be credited as the owner of IP of any kind, real or imaginary, including patents, based on these papers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All you have to do is pay the paper mills, and there are your non-existent \u201cscientific credentials\u201d. It looks good. You take credit for it, and you\u2019re now an \u201cauthority\u201d on your non-existent subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You genius, you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can use this fake documentation to position yourself to get a grant, sell fake products, get investors, and\/or simply rip off people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This isn\u2019t so much new as a known issue becoming a serious problem. The <strong>science news often includes information about science fraud,<\/strong> notably from publications like <em>Nature,<\/em> which is a prestigious place for research papers.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-making-money-out-of-science-fraud\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Making money out of science fraud<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fraud is a crime. If you buy or sell anything and misrepresent the value of what you buy or sell, it\u2019s fraud. If you price a single Dorito at $10 billion dollars, and apply for a loan based on that valuation, it\u2019s fraud. You see how this works.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The paper mill geniuses producing fake research papers <strong>do quite nicely out of it. <\/strong>They can also do PhD theses, high school essays, and people pay per page.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>You can also get blackmailed when you\u2019re committed to your fraud by submitting your \u201cpaper\u201d, and that\u2019s not likely to be cheap, either.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u00a0You\u2019re that sort of genius.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The risks of committing science fraud are real enough for any dedicated masochist. If you\u2019re an Ivy League idiot, your very expensive education, academic post, and\/or any other values can be totally trashed. Suspension, expulsion, and perhaps civil law cases against you can result.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re somehow stupid enough to commit science fraud as an actual scientist in a real research environment, you\u2019re personally extinct, and rightly so. Imagine doing a fake research paper in a real research institution, and your 1+1 = 2342.13434 outcome is discovered by a peer group of real scientists. You\u2019d be better off dead. Much better off.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-real-damage-done-by-fake-science\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The real damage done by fake science<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sheer loathing of fake science expressed by many real scientists is real enough for even a mass media commentator. The real scientists are spending real money and time and tortuous peer-review experiences on real research.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then some moron includes easily detectable garbage in their work or about their work. This is the QAnon of science, the deranged fringe making a lot of noises because some people broadcast it worldwide. The fake science needs to be disproved. That takes time and money, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Add to this enchanting tableau the attacks on science by the world\u2019s ignoramuses, particularly those in high public and corporate offices. Add the many attempts to discredit real science, mysteriously backed up by fraudulent data and information-spin. Any bot can do that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>estimated cost of managing science fraud is \u20ac145 billion per year<\/strong>. No matter how much you adore your organized criminals, psychopaths and other invaluable social assets, that\u2019s very expensive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This fraud wastes grants and research budgets as well as time and effort that could be better used on real science. Finding and fixing the problems created by this costly, useless drivel is also expensive. There are regulatory issues, too, for falsified data, compromised research contracts, and other fun stuff.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-zero-tolerance-is-too-much-we-need-to-shut-this-down-at-the-source\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Zero tolerance is too much. We need to shut this down at the source.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI generates paper mill stuff, but it\u2019s also good and getting better at finding it. Most people who\u2019ve examined AI work know there are patterns. There are LLM characteristics. There are artefacts, common usage, and \u201cCopyscape fodder\u201d where it\u2019s easy to identify unrelated texts that mystically repeat themselves verbatim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can do that manually, too, but it\u2019s a lot of work, particularly when looking at utter garbage. AI is the most appropriate, too, with oversight. This is specialized work, but it\u2019s doable and should be able to spot the garbage on sight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>What\u2019s missing is a real, scary disincentive.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A paper mill could be some mindless bozo with a laptop or an international network. The mindset is \u201chabitual criminal\u201d. That\u2019s the problem. These people typically aren\u2019t scared of the criminal law process. \u00a0They\u2019re scared of being unable to make money. It\u2019s a serious weakness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Further up the scale, the criminal process works better. The very average white-collar criminal who enters into contracts based on fraud can be vivisected by law. Nobody wants to know them. Their networks fail. The risk is extremely high. They can go from high-flyers to lower-tier sewer rats overnight. They become instant nobodies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s needed is some tough legal definitions:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Contracts enforcing data integrity.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Direct personal liabilities for anyone involved in scientific fraud.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Strong case law to back it up and make it stick.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>RICO-based law<\/em><\/strong><em> for systemic fraud. After all, it is a racket.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Recovery methods for all money spent on fake papers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This nauseating situation has to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:90px; background:#4ecdc4; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114300\" data-width=\"728\" data-height=\"90\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114300});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u4e3b\u680f\uff1a\u591a\u5e7f\u544a\u5806\u53e0 -->\r\n  <div style=\"display:grid; gap:2px;\">\r\n    <div style=\"height:60px; background:#45b7d1; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114308\" data-width=\"468\" data-height=\"60\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114308});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ffe066; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114299\" data-width=\"300\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114299});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ff9ecd; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114305\" data-width=\"250\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114305});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:139px; background:#c792ea; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> Op-Ed: Science fraud is an expensive disaster damaging real science. It has to be stopped.<br \/>\n<br \/>#OpEd #Science #fraud #expensive #disaster #damaging #real #science #stopped<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Science fraud is an industry. Not even a conspiracy. It\u2019s a cash cow. It produces&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7395,1491,4384,1025,7300,1748,256,3426],"class_list":["post-20453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-damaging","tag-disaster","tag-expensive","tag-fraud","tag-oped","tag-real","tag-science","tag-stopped"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",640,427,false],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1-768x500.jpg",768,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a5628bb57b05df748b51ee2d9ebf702644c6f6c6-1-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}