Researchers fight against fake science
Fake studies produced with the help of AI risk damaging the credibility of research while academia must regain control over scientific publishing. This is according to the initiators of the Stockholm Declaration that receives support from leading persons at Stockholm University. At the beginning of the summer in 2025, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) organised a workshop with Swedish and international researchers on how the system for scientific publishing works and how it can be reformed. As a result of this workshop, Dan Larhammar, Uppsala University and former chairman of KVA, and Bernhard Sabel, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, have now, in November 2025, published an article with proposed measures according to the Stockholm Declaration. Hundreds of thousands of fraudulent articles, more or less generated by AI, have in recent years begun to erode the scientific system. This risks undermining the fundamental credibility of science. It becomes difficult to build further on research that in its entirety, or in parts, is not accurate. It becomes impossible to replicate studies that may not even have been conducted in the first place, according to the authors of the Stockholm Declaration. “Our entire societal development is based on having a factual foundation. This is evident when it comes to medical treatments where patients can be harmed or even die. But one can also imagine bridges and buildings collapsing if the calculations they are based on are incorrect. And if macroeconomic models are inaccurate, decision-makers may receive wrong information. Ultimately, our democracies rely on us being able to make informed choices, which is why it is so important that the basic information is correct,” says Dan Larhammar. Need to prioritise quality He argues that it is time for the researchers themselves to tackle the problem and find countermeasures. There is something in the structure of the entire scientific system that can tempt people to cheat. To merit themselves, researchers have been required to publish as much as possible. Steering towards quality instead of quantity when researchers apply for positions could be a way to move away from this. Dan Larhammar also points out that the rapid implementation of open access – which he fundamentally considers good – has created a market for unscrupulous opportunists. According to the article’s authors, so-called article mills produce false articles and offer researchers the opportunity to buy co-authorship. It also happens that editors of scientific journals are bribed to accept articles. The article’s authors are also critical of established large publishers who make large profits from research conducted with the help of grants from the state or foundations. Instead, they would like to see the academy itself take greater responsibility for scientific publishing without a profit motive. Another problem with the large number of false studies is that the peer review system risks collapsing. SU professor urges signing the declaration
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