A growing issue of “review mills”—researchers writing fake peer review reports and demanding citations—is causing conflict within academic publishing. The practice is described as a waste of time for those caught in the crossfire.
Researchers who operate these “review mills” are creating artificial referee reports with coercive citation requests, sparking what *Nature* describes as a “war” in academic publishing. The article highlights the impact on researchers who find themselves entangled in this practice.
The core of the problem lies in the demand for citations. These review mills essentially offer to review papers but only if the authors agree to cite their work – even if it’s irrelevant or low quality. This creates a system where reviews are not based on scientific merit, but on reciprocal citation agreements. As stated in *Nature*, this is “a waste of time for all of us.”
The article, published online August 3, 2026, details the disruption caused by these practices and suggests a growing concern within the academic community about maintaining the integrity of peer review.
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