United2Act
is a growing international movement taking decisive action against the collective challenge of paper mills in scholarly publishing.
Paper mills are a real threat to the integrity of the scholarly record. Collective effort is needed because no individual stakeholder can solve this problem alone.
United2Act unites, educates, and mobilises a diverse coalition of stakeholders committed to collective action against the critical issue of paper mills—entities that produce fraudulent research papers for profit.
Today, United2Act comprises research institutions, publishers, investigative researchers, universities, and publishing infrastructure leaders, united in their commitment to five key areas of action.
Five key action areas
In May 2023, a diverse group of stakeholders from 15 countries convened at the inaugural United2Act summit. This gathering resulted in a Consensus Statement that identifies five pivotal action areas, that now guide our ongoing efforts. Discover the impactful work being done.
1. Education and awareness
To create new educational tools and resources, and to promote education and awareness activities to make researchers, journal editors, reviewers, journals, and publishers aware of the problem of paper mills.
2. Improve post-publication corrections
To investigate and agree ways to improve communication with those who report misconduct to journals, and to agree ways in which the correction of the literature can be speeded up when misconduct is discovered.
3. Research on paper mills
To work with interested parties to facilitate and organise research to be carried out on paper mills, with particular attention to regional and subject specific aspects.
4. Enable the development of trust markers
To work with the various suppliers who are developing tools which verify the identity of authors, reviewers, and editors to ensure that the solutions work for the variety of authors and author choices and are fit for purpose.
5. Facilitate dialogue between stakeholders
Continue to facilitate dialogue between stakeholders about the systematic manipulation of the publication process, bringing together the many voices in this area through joint projects and initiatives.
Working groups
Delve deeper to learn more about what’s being done in these five action areas, what’s soon to come, and how you can stay informed about this growing movement.
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