Poisoning the Well: Citation Contamination of Systematic Review Literature in the Life Sciences by Paper Mills

This presentation investigates the emerging threat of citation contamination in systematic reviews caused by paper mills—organizations that produce fraudulent or low-value scientific publications at scale. Drawing on data from the Retraction Watch Database and Web of Science (2013–2023), the study identifies 179 systematic reviews in the life sciences that cited paper mill articles, including 61 post-retraction citations. Through citation matching and journal-level analysis, the research reveals exponential growth in contamination cases and highlights high-risk disciplines such as oncology and molecular biology. The findings raise urgent concerns about the reliability of evidence synthesis, especially in reviews influencing clinical guidelines and policy. Recommendations are proposed to enhance verification practices and safeguard the integrity of systematic reviews.