Wiley is closing 19 journals after discovering more than 11,300 fraudulent papers in the past two years, a significant blow to the academic publishing industry.

This move follows the closure of four other journals last year.

The issue of fraudulent papers, often produced by 'paper mills' that sell fabricated research, threatens the credibility of scientific publishing.

Other publishers, including IOP Publishing, have also retracted hundreds of suspect papers.

In 2022, IOP Publishing identified nearly 900 fake papers, highlighting the scale of the problem.

The fraudulent papers typically include irrelevant references and technical-sounding but meaningless content.

The detection of these fake papers has forced publishers to implement stricter screening protocols and invest in new technologies to identify fraudulent submissions.

Despite these efforts, the use of generative AI by paper mills is making detection increasingly difficult.

The academic community continues to develop tools and collaborate to combat this growing issue.