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IEEE retracts 1,417 conference papers in one day over paper mills

IEEE retracts 1,417 conference papers in one day over paper mills

Rule Changes

The largest single bulk retraction by a scholarly publisher follows a study tracing the papers to authorship ads on social media.

2 days ago: Nature reports the scale of the retraction

Overview

Updated 54 minutes ago

On 23 October 2026, IEEE pulled 1,417 conference papers in one batch. Research-integrity specialists told Nature it is the largest single bulk retraction any scholarly publisher has issued.

Every one of those papers had already been flagged in a study of authorship slots sold on Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook. First-author positions were advertised at $43 to $400. IEEE says the pulled papers are less than 0.06% of its conference output over six years.

Why it matters

Conference papers feed tenure, graduation and hiring decisions; when authorship can be bought, those credentials can be bought.

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Key Indicators

1,417
Papers retracted in one day
IEEE's 23 October 2026 batch, the largest single bulk retraction by a publisher.
2,062
Papers flagged by the study
Titles matched to authorship ads across 366 IEEE conference proceedings from 2021 to 2026.
1,622
Flagged papers since retracted
IEEE has now pulled most of the study's list, leaving roughly 440 unaccounted for.
4,407
Authorship ads recorded
Offers found on more than 200 social-media channels, according to the study.
$400
Top advertised first-author price
Asking prices ran from $43 to $400 for a first-author slot and $11 to $200 for last author.
0.06%
Share of IEEE conference output
IEEE's stated figure for the six-year period covered by the retractions.

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People Involved

AA
Anna Abalkina
Research-integrity researcher, Free University of Berlin
Co-author of the study behind the retractions
MK
Marie Kunešová
Computer scientist, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen
Co-author of the study
GC
Guillaume Cabanac
Computer scientist, University of Toulouse
Creator of the Problematic Paper Screener

Organizations Involved

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Professional society and publisher
Issued the retractions; says it is reviewing conference integrity

The largest technical professional society, publishing roughly 350,000 conference papers a year.
AR
Accountability in Research
Peer-reviewed journal
Published the study IEEE acted on

The journal that published the paper-mill study in October 2026.
HI
Hindawi
Publisher (Wiley subsidiary)
Retracted more than 9,500 articles by the end of 2023

A London-based publisher, now defunct, that ran one of the largest mass-retraction programmes on record.
PP
Problematic Paper Screener
Research-integrity database
Used to verify IEEE's retraction count

A database that flags retracted papers by scanning publishers' websites.

Timeline

2015 October 2026

9 events Latest: 2 days ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Nature reports the scale of the retraction

    Latest Media

    Nature confirms 1,417 papers pulled and counts nearly 3,000 IEEE retractions in 2026.

  2. IEEE issues public statement

    Statement

    IEEE says an external study prompted a review and the papers violated its publication principles.

  3. IEEE retracts 1,417 papers at once

    Retraction

    Nature verifies the batch, the largest single bulk retraction by a scholarly publisher on record.

  4. Study published in Accountability in Research

    Research

    The peer-reviewed version lists 2,062 papers across 366 IEEE conference proceedings from 2021 to 2026.

  5. Paper-mill study posted as preprint

    Research

    Researchers post an analysis matching IEEE conference paper titles to authorship advertisements.

  6. IEEE retracts more than 1,700 conference articles

    Retraction

    The society's previous year of conference retractions, before the 2026 batch.

  7. Hindawi passes 9,500 retractions

    Precedent

    The Wiley-owned publisher ends 2023 with more than 9,500 articles retracted, including 567 in one batch.

  8. ACM retracts an entire conference proceedings

    Precedent

    ACM pulls all 323 papers from a 2021 conference after finding peer review was handled by an outside company.

  9. IEEE pulls papers in bulk for the first time

    Precedent

    IEEE retracts more than 1,200 papers and abstracts from a single 2011 conference.

Scenarios

1

IEEE applies journal-level integrity checks to conference submissions

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Marie Kunešová and Anna Abalkina, quoted in Nature

Both researchers say the weakness sits in conference peer review, which local organizing committees run and which skips the checks IEEE journals use. If IEEE writes those checks into its conference sponsorship rules, the 2026 batch becomes the trigger for a policy change rather than a one-off cleanup.

2

Another publisher retracts hundreds of papers from a single study match

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Research-integrity researchers tracking paper-mill advertising

The study's method, matching advertised titles against published proceedings, works on any publisher. If researchers apply it elsewhere, other societies and proceedings series could face the same choice IEEE did: pull the papers or explain why not.

3

IEEE leaves conference review with local organizers and adds only spot checks

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: IEEE's public statement, which emphasizes the small share of output affected

IEEE's statement frames the retractions as less than 0.06% of six years of conference papers. That framing points to a narrower response: keep the sponsorship model, tighten screening at the margins, and leave peer review with the committees that run each event.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2015

IEEE mass retraction (2015)

IEEE retracted more than 1,200 papers and abstracts from a single 2011 conference. It was the largest bulk retraction the society had attempted.

Then

The society removed the papers from its record and cited publication-integrity failures.

Now

Bulk retractions stayed rare for another decade, and IEEE's conference model kept the review process with local organizers.

Why this matters now

It shows the 2026 batch is not IEEE's first, and that earlier cleanups did not change how conference papers are reviewed.

2022-2023

Hindawi mass retractions (2023)

Hindawi, a London-based subsidiary of Wiley, retracted more than 9,500 articles by the end of 2023. The publisher said the papers came from special issues targeted by paper mills, with researcher identities manipulated.

Then

Wiley paused publishing in the affected journals and announced 567 retractions in one batch.

Now

Hindawi was wound down, and the case set the benchmark for how large a publisher-led cleanup can get.

Why this matters now

It is the scale comparison for IEEE's action, and a warning that bulk retraction can end a publishing imprint.

2022

ACM retracts an entire conference (2022)

ACM retracted all 323 papers from the 2021 ICIMTech proceedings. An investigation found a Beijing-based company had handled every peer review, and a review file sent to ACM appeared to have been falsified.

Then

ACM pulled the whole proceedings and penalized the conference's co-chairs.

Now

The case showed that when peer review is outsourced, a publisher may have to void an entire event rather than individual papers.

Why this matters now

IEEE retracted 1,417 papers while sparing the conferences themselves. ACM's experience shows the alternative path.

Sources

(2)
Nature Retraction Watch