MDPI blacklists authors after preprint cites fake AI-generated references
A preprint on Preprints.org cited two non-existent papers by millipede expert Henrik Enghoff. The preprint, titled "From Beneficial Arthropods to Soil-Dwelling Organisms: A Review on Millipedes," was found to contain multiple fake references, likely generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT. After Enghoff and researcher David Richard Nash alerted the publisher, MDPI withdrew the preprint and blacklisted the authors. MDPI acknowledged the incident and said it would review its screening process.
- Date it happened
- 2026-09-01
- Organisation involved
- MDPI
- Product, system or model
- ChatGPT
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