Read the full paper ↗Cited by 96 · as of 28 Sep 2026
CITADEL / THE STORY SO FAR
References
to nowhere.
A finding became
a research program.
It began with an audit in The Lancet. CITADEL now investigates fabricated references across the scientific literature and the models that generate them.
THE LANCETMAY 2026
A reference is a claim that evidence exists.Explore the original audit experience ↗
FOLLOW THE QUESTIONS
Each paper opens
a new question.
Choose a chapter to look inside the research.
Each study asks a distinct question.
INSIDE THE RESEARCH
CHAPTER 01 / 03
The finding that started the story.
A large-scale audit brought fabricated references into focus. The paper examined bibliographic records and traced unresolved references across multiple sources.
The last point in this figure is an incomplete quarter, ending on 18 February 2026.
THE PAPER
Fabricated citations: an audit across 2·5 million biomedical papers
The original study’s quarterly trendFIGURE / P. 2
THE RECORD RESPONDS · UPDATED WEEKLY
What happened
after publication.
Citations and coverage of the CITADEL papers,
gathered each week from public indexes.
96works cite the Lancet audit4 indexes, deduplicated
Top 1%of 2026 papers in its field, by citationsOpenAlex percentile
40countries among citing authors62 works with known affiliations
50+news outlets covered the auditCurated by the CITADEL tracker
57 journal articles, 28 preprints, and 11 reports, theses, and books. Cited in JAMA, The Lancet, and Cell, among others.
Citing works over timeAll four indexes · by publication date
The literature is picking it up.
Cumulative works citing the Lancet audit, dated by their own publication. The 7 without an exact date are added at the end. Dashed rust lines mark the later CITADEL papers.
Sources: Google Scholar 91, OpenAlex 60, Semantic Scholar 42, and Europe PMC 21, deduplicated to 96 works. News stories count as coverage, not citations. Includes 3 later papers by the CITADEL authors. Updated weekly; as of 28 September 2026.
BEYOND THE PAPERS
The story found
a wider audience.
Independent reporting and conversations
about trust in the scientific record.
NatureRead the coverage ↗STATRead the coverage ↗CBS NewsRead the coverage ↗Retraction WatchRead the coverage ↗
More coverage of the Lancet audit (8)
- CIDRAPReview uncovers rising rate of fake references in published biomedical papers8 May 2026
- Phys.orgNearly 3,000 peer-reviewed medical papers have fake citations, AI-assisted audit finds8 May 2026
- ThePrint1 in every 277 biomedical papers worldwide has a fake citation, says study in ‘The Lancet’9 May 2026
- Business StandardAudit finds 3,000 biomedical papers with fake citations amid AI surge11 May 2026
- Deccan HeraldFake citations surged 12-fold since 2023, audit of 2.5 million biomedical papers reveals11 May 2026
- ForbesAI Blamed For Rise In Fabricated Citations Found In Recent Research Papers12 May 2026
- The ScientistOne in 277 Biomedical Papers Carry Fake References15 May 2026
- FortuneAI hallucinations are slipping past experts into papers and books to enter the permanent record24 May 2026
THE CONVERSATION, IN MOTION
When the paper
leaves the page.
Researchers and creators brought the work into their own communities. A short collage captures a few of those conversations.
Read Max’s LinkedIn post ↗The center scene is an AI-generated portrayal, not footage of Max Topaz or his research team.
Video description & creator credits
A 15-second collage of six creators discussing citations and research integrity, around a visibly labelled AI-generated research-team scene. Two panes switch from speakers to study-related content after five seconds. Instrumental soundtrack. Selected excerpts do not endorse every claim in the original videos.
CITADEL