Publisher IEEE retracts about 1,400 papers in record crackdown on 'paper mills'

The IEEE, one of the world's largest publishers of engineering and computer science research, has retracted about 1,400 conference papers in a single day, in what Nature describes as a record-breaking move against so-called paper mills.

Nature's news team counted at least 1,417 retractions on October 23. IEEE described the number as approximately 1,400.

What are paper mills?

Paper mills are businesses that produce fake or low-quality research papers and sell authorship to academics who need publications for jobs, promotions or degrees. They often recycle text and data, fabricate results or place papers through weakly reviewed conferences.

The study behind the retractions

The retractions followed a study, published this month in the journal Accountability in Research, that examined 2,062 papers in 366 IEEE conference proceedings published between 2021 and 2026 and found links to paper mills. According to Nature's analysis, IEEE has now retracted 1,622 of the 2,062 flagged papers.

The study found that authorship was offered for sale, with prices ranging from $43 to $400 for a first-author slot. Of the IEEE-sponsored conferences with five or more matching papers, 95 took place in India.

IEEE's response

IEEE said the affected papers represent less than 0.06 percent of its conference publications over six years, and that it used new technology and advanced screening methods to identify them. Nature estimates IEEE has retracted nearly 3,000 papers so far in 2026.

Why it matters

Fake papers pollute the scientific record. Other researchers may cite or build on them, and in fields such as engineering and medicine, flawed findings can have real-world consequences. They also undermine trust in honest research.

The problem is driven by intense pressure to publish, particularly in countries and institutions that reward academics by the number of papers they produce. Publishers are investing in software to detect suspicious submissions, but integrity experts say lasting change requires universities and funders to stop judging researchers by publication counts alone.

The previous record for a single event is thought to have been Nature's own retraction, in 2015, of more than 1,200 papers and abstracts from a single 2011 conference.