Sunday, October 2, 2022

Huge Scandal: Scientific Publisher Retracts Over 500 Articles

10-2-2022  By Tim Gamble

Hindawi, a publisher of over 200 peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals, announced that they are retracting a total of 511 papers published over the last two years. The publisher cited "unethical" activities and other "irregularities" that occurred in the peer-review process. 

Liz Ferguson, senior vice president for John Wiley & Sons, Hindawi’s parent company, released a statement on September 28 that read in part: "we identified that these irregularities in the peer review process were the result of suspicious and unethical activities."

Richard Bennett, vice president of researcher and publishing services for Hindawi, stated that their investigation uncovered "coordinated peer review rings" used to guide suspicious and faulty papers through the peer-review process. 

According to Ferguson, "These efforts, and the individuals who participate in them, impede scientific discovery, and impact the validity of scholarly research, and will not be tolerated."  In addition to retracting the papers, certain authors and editors will be banned from Hindawi's publications.

The scandal at Hindawi will likely deepen as their internal investigation continues. Hindawi is also now working with other scientific and medical publishers, and the scandal is expected to widen beyond just Hindawi. 

The scandal occurred during a time that the public was repeatedly and emphatically told by the media, government officials and other authorities "we must not question the science" and that the peer-review process was above reproach. Additionally, during this time Big Tech and social media openly censored many people, including some scientists and doctors, for questioning supposedly "established" science. 

In point of fact, the scientific peer-review process now stands exposed for massive corruption and bias. It appears that, as a group, scientists are no more trustworthy than politicians. 

Related Article: Question Authority - Don't Blindly Trust Experts

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