Popular Epistemology Digest — 23 August 2026
News and views on the sources and systems behind what we know and believe.
Biology journal pulls 100+ articles and counting from special issues for peer review manipulation
2026-08-12 · Retraction Watch
Elsevier's International Journal of Biological Macromolecules has retracted more than 120 papers from guest-edited special issues since June 2026, with at least one more retraction announced as forthcoming. Retraction notices cite systematic, coordinated, and widespread manipulation of the peer-review process.
BMJ Group retracts paper on COVID-19 vaccines and mortality featured in Senate hearing
2026-08-11 · Retraction Watch
BMJ Public Health has retracted a May 2024 paper that had been cited to link COVID-19 vaccines to deaths, including by a witness at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing. The retraction came more than two years after a researcher whose work was cited in the study raised concerns about it.
A college student had to retract her paper. The move was 'the starting point for a better study'
2026-08-10 · Retraction Watch
Princeton University sophomore Rishika Porandla retracted a paper she had published through a course called 'The Curious Scientist,' which trains students in disciplinary research. A subsequent update to the story reported that she acknowledged not having conducted the experiments described in the retracted paper.
Weekend reads: Senators ask FDA for more oversight following deaths in China clinical trials; image duplication in Alzheimer's papers; 'AI Is Ruining Scholarship'
2026-08-22 · Retraction Watch
Retraction Watch's weekly roundup highlights several research-integrity topics, including a Senate request for increased FDA oversight following deaths in clinical trials conducted in China, image duplication concerns in Alzheimer's research, and commentary on AI's impact on scholarship. The digest also notes that the Hijacked Journal Checker now contains more than 450 entries and the Retraction Watch Database has surpassed 66,000 retractions.
