Five red flags that a research paper may be fraudulent

Science sleuths outline five practical checks to spot dubious papers: vet the references for relevance and possible fake or self-citing patterns; verify authors and affiliations (and ORCID IDs); examine figures and images for manipulation; evaluate the science itself for formulaic, boring, or implausible findings often produced by paper mills; and read the abstract for clarity and consistency, using community resources like PubPeer and Retraction Watch to corroborate concerns.