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Study Finds 5.8% of Biomed Papers Likely Fake

By Drooid · Oct 17, 2026, 12:04 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Stanford professor John Ioannidis warns biomedical research in United States is becoming increasingly fraudulent.
He says AI is flooding literature with fraudulent papers, worsening the crisis.
A 2023 study estimated 5.8% of biomedical papers were fake, and the share is rising.
Only 5.6% of 1,567 medical interventions have high-quality evidence of benefit.
The United States spends close to 20% of GDP on health care while life expectancy has stalled.

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Story summary

Stanford professor John Ioannidis warns biomedical research in United States is becoming increasingly fraudulent.
He says AI is flooding literature with fraudulent papers, worsening the crisis.
A 2023 study estimated 5.8% of biomedical papers were fake, and the share is rising.
Only 5.6% of 1,567 medical interventions have high-quality evidence of benefit.
The United States spends close to 20% of GDP on health care while life expectancy has stalled.