Paper mills – commercial companies that fabricate or manipulate scientific papers for profit – have grown into a global shadow industry. What once seemed like a marginal problem now affects major publishers, respected journals, and entire research fields. Recent studies suggest that fake publications are growing almost ten times faster than legitimate scientific output.

In this lunch talk, science journalist Anja Reiter shares insights from months of investigative reporting for DIE ZEIT. Drawing on conversations with researchers, journal editors, whistleblowers, and publishers, she explains how paper mills operate, why they thrive under today’s publication pressure, and how AI is accelerating both fraud and detection.

The talk will focus in particular on what this means for early-career researchers and postdocs:

• How can you recognize red flags?
• Why does this matter for research integrity, careers, and even patient safety?
• And what forms of resistance are emerging – from “academic sleuths” to international initiatives such as the Stockholm Declaration?

The session will conclude with a discussion on risks, responsibilities, and possible futures of academic publishing in an ecosystem built around numbers, rankings, and efficiency.

Date: 26 June 2026

Time: 1-2 pm