AI-assisted research has produced a wave of citation fraud — fabricated sources that plausibly resemble real papers. The problem is severe enough that some journals now require citation verification. Honest citation practice is a professional obligation.
- 01Explain how AI fabricates plausible-sounding citations.
- 02State the personal rules that prevent citation fraud.
- 03Design a citation-verification step for your own workflow.
The problem
Language models complete text and are trained to sound authoritative. When asked for a source, they produce a plausibly-formatted citation — often with real authors and real journals — that does not exist. The malformed DOIs are the giveaway; the well-formed fakes are the dangerous ones.
The rules
Never cite what you have not read. Never trust an AI-generated citation without opening the actual paper. When in doubt, search the DOI, the journal, and the authors independently. Publishing a fake citation is a professional failure that survives your career.
- AI fabricates plausible citations. Verify every one.
- Never cite what you have not read.