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This is The Wikipedia CiteWatch, a bot-compiled listing of potentially cargo cult, conspiracist, denialist, fake, junk, not even wrong, obsolete, predatory, pseudoscientific, quack, or otherwise unreliable publications cited by Wikipedia through the |journal= and |doi= parameters of citation templates (see this Signpost article for details). It is based on several lists of unreliable or questionable publications (such as those compiled by Jeffrey Beall, the University Grants Commission, Quackwatch, or Wikipedia editors) and currently reflects the state of Wikipedia as of 1 November 2025. See Q9 in the FAQ for the update schedule.

This list is a starting point to detect unreliable sources which are cited by Wikipedia, but it does not answer whether it is appropriate to cite them. Due to the somewhat arbitrary nature of what exactly constitutes an unreliable source, as well as imperfect matching algorithms, the list may feature publications and publishers which...

  1. are flat-out promoting pseudo/junk scholarship or quackery
  2. are flat-out predatory/vanity venues, with sham peer-review processes
  3. were once-reliable, but have since been acquired by predatory publishers
  4. were once-unreliable, but no longer engage in problematic practices
  5. reflect the sources' good but imperfect judgment of what is unreliable
  6. are problematic in some areas (e.g. pseudoscience), but reliable in others (e.g. news)
  7. are problematic in some other way (e.g. circular references, or deprecated sources)
  8. are problematic but used in an acceptable manner (e.g. primary sources about frauds)
  9. are misclassified because of a spelling variation (red links especially)
  10. are misclassified because of false positives, miscategorization, or flawed bot logic
  11. are reliable, but share names with imposter publications and publishers
  12. are about pseudoscholarship as a topic, rather than being pseudoscholarly themselves

While many, if not most, publications and publishers on this list have some questionable aspects to their publishing practices, these can still be reliable (or be otherwise acceptable) in limited circumstances. The CiteWatch cannot determine the full context in which a source is used, therefore use common sense and judgement before removing a citation from an article (see Q8 in the FAQ). When in doubt, discuss things on the article's talk page or at the reliable sources noticeboard – especially before a mass purge of a source. The Unreliable/Predatory Source Detector user script may also interest you.

Additions and removals from the listing – including false positives – can be discussed at WT:CITEWATCH. False positives can also be directly handled at WP:JCW/EXCLUDE.
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Rank Target/Group Entries (Citations, Articles) Total Citations Distinct Articles ⁠Citations/article⁠


1 MDPI | {{doi|10.1989}} · {{doi|10.20944}} · {{doi|10.32545}} · {{doi|10.3390}} · {{doi|10.35995}}
[Beall's publisher list / update]
MDPI is very much hit-and-miss. MDPI on Beall's original list in 2014, but was removed in 2015. The updated list says "Some of their journals have a very poor peer-review; some are fine." Social Sciences could be multiple other journals. Evaluate on a case by case basis (see Q8 in the FAQ).
All 465 MDPI-related entries
25763 18272 1.410
2 Frontiers Media | {{doi|10.3389}} · {{doi|10.4175}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Very much hit-and-miss. See note on Beall's list. Will accept almost anything (80-90% of submissions), and has sacked editors for being too selective. Many journals have impact factors and are listed on DOAJ, and Frontiers Media remains part of COPE and OASPA. Evaluate on a case by case basis (see Q8 in the FAQ).
All 280 Frontiers Media-related entries
17173 11938 1.439
3 Hijacked journal
[Beall's hijacked list · Beall's hijacked list / update · Beall's journal list · Bohannon's list of hijacked journals]
Hijacked journals are legitimate academic journals with imposters pretending to be the legitimate publication. These citations are likely not problematic, but it is good to check that the real journal is being cited.
All 254 Hijacked journal-related entries
7039 5740 1.226
4 Hindawi (publisher) | {{doi|10.1100}} · {{doi|10.1155}} · {{doi|10.3814}} · {{doi|10.4061}} · {{doi|10.5402}} · {{doi|10.6064}} · {{doi|10.7167}} · {{doi|10.7217}}
[Beall's publisher list*]
Listed on Beall's list in 2010, but later removed as a 'borderline case'. In 2023, Hindawi retracted several thousands of articles from paper mills. Wiley estimates that 10-13% of all Hindawi papers are affected, though this may vary from journal to journal. Evaluate on a case by case basis (see Q8 in the FAQ).
All 599 Hindawi (publisher)-related entries
6533 5627 1.161
5 Medknow Publications | {{doi|10.4103}} · {{doi|10.6219}}
[Beall's publisher list* · Beall's journal list / update]
Listed on Beall's list in 2011, but removed in 2012. Several of its journal are listed on the updated list, however.
All 536 Medknow Publications-related entries
6104 4615 1.323
6 Bentham Science Publishers | {{doi|10.2174}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Bentham Open is listed, although Bentham Science Publishers is not.
All 317 Bentham Science Publishers-related entries
4022 3177 1.266
7 Dove Medical Press | {{doi|10.2147}}
[Beall's journal list / update]
Formerly on Beall's original list as 'Dove Press', but several journals are listed on the updated list.
All 159 Dove Medical Press-related entries
2556 2093 1.221
8 Alternative medicine
[Unreliable fields]
Some field are more unreliable than others
All 344 Alternative medicine-related entries
2547 1745 1.460
9 Case report
[Unreliable fields]
Case reports may be perfectly fine citations, however they will usually fail WP:MEDRS as individual cases are considered anecdotal evidence.
All 269 Case report-related entries
1974 1618 1.220
10 Parapsychology
[Unreliable fields]
Several skeptical publications setting out to debunk rather than promote nonsensical claims may be included here.
All 70 Parapsychology-related entries
1391 935 1.488
11 Baishideng Publishing Group | {{doi|10.11569}} · {{doi|10.12998}} · {{doi|10.13105}} · {{doi|10.35711}} · {{doi|10.35712}} · {{doi|10.35713}} · {{doi|10.37126}} · {{doi|10.3748}} · {{doi|10.4239}} · {{doi|10.4240}} · {{doi|10.4251}} · {{doi|10.4252}} · {{doi|10.4253}} · {{doi|10.4254}} · {{doi|10.4291}} · {{doi|10.4292}} · {{doi|10.4329}} · {{doi|10.4330}} · {{doi|10.4331}} · {{doi|10.5306}} · {{doi|10.5312}} · {{doi|10.5313}} · {{doi|10.5314}} · {{doi|10.5315}} · {{doi|10.5316}} · {{doi|10.5317}} · {{doi|10.5318}} · {{doi|10.5319}} · {{doi|10.5320}} · {{doi|10.5321}} · {{doi|10.5409}} · {{doi|10.5410}} · {{doi|10.5411}} · {{doi|10.5412}} · {{doi|10.5492}} · {{doi|10.5493}} · {{doi|10.5494}} · {{doi|10.5495}} · {{doi|10.5496}} · {{doi|10.5497}} · {{doi|10.5498}} · {{doi|10.5499}} · {{doi|10.5500}} · {{doi|10.5501}} · {{doi|10.5527}} · {{doi|10.5528}} · {{doi|10.5662}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 52 Baishideng Publishing Group-related entries
1365 1030 1.325
12 Current Science
[Beall's journal list / update] 		1130 951 1.188
13 Pseudo-scholarship
[Unreliable fields]
All 225 Pseudo-scholarship-related entries
1103 918 1.202
14 Tabloid journalism
[Unreliable fields]
All 32 Tabloid journalism-related entries
1068 571 1.870
15 Cureus | {{doi|10.7759}}
[—]
Uses crowd-sourced "post-publication peer-review". 		781 699 1.117
16 ResearchGate | {{doi|10.13140}}
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#ResearchGate.
All 212 ResearchGate-related entries
743 677 1.097
17 AME Publishing Company | {{doi|10.21037}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 70 AME Publishing Company-related entries
742 614 1.208
18 Impact Journals (New York State, USA) | {{doi|10.18632}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		664 542 1.225
19 Conspiracy theory
[Unreliable fields]
All 54 Conspiracy theory-related entries
640 547 1.170
20 Propaganda
[Unreliable fields]
All 162 Propaganda-related entries
624 519 1.202
21 Forbes
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Forbes.com contributors, staff is reliable, contributors are not.
All 12 Forbes-related entries
539 470 1.147
22 F1000 (publisher) | {{doi|10.12688}} · {{doi|10.12703}} · {{doi|10.3410}} · {{doi|10.4089}} · {{doi|10.7490}}
[See [1]]
All 27 F1000 (publisher)-related entries
536 457 1.173
23 Oncotarget
[Beall's journal list] 		459 397 1.156
24 Blog hosting services
[WP:SPSLIST]
See WP:BLOGS.
All 199 Blog hosting services-related entries
446 391 1.141
25 Race and intelligence controversy
[Unreliable fields] 		423 203 2.084
26 Rolling Stone
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Rolling Stone; good for culture news reporting; unreliable for politically/societally sensitive reporting; Culture Council articles unreliable. 		402 369 1.089
27 Frontiers in Bioscience | {{doi|10.2741}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		364 342 1.064
28 Medwell Journals | {{doi|10.3923}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Veterinary Research is most likely the one published by BioMed Central, rather than Medwell. Social Sciences could be multiple other journals.
All 18 Medwell Journals-related entries
310 267 1.161
29 Chiropractic
[Unreliable fields]
All 29 Chiropractic-related entries
310 157 1.975
30 Daily Star (United Kingdom)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Daily Star. 		288 158 1.823
31 Unpublished
[—]
May simply be in need of being updated to the published version. Otherwise, these probably fail WP:V.
All 155 Unpublished-related entries
264 238 1.109
32 Quadrant (magazine)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Quadrant. 		251 161 1.559
33 e-Century Publishing Corporation
[Beall's publisher list]
All 19 e-Century Publishing Corporation-related entries
231 218 1.060
34 Canadian Center of Science and Education | {{doi|10.5539}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 32 Canadian Center of Science and Education-related entries
225 212 1.061
35 Superseded theories in science
[Unreliable fields]
All 37 Superseded theories in science-related entries
222 200 1.110
36 Journal of Management
[Lying about DOAJ]
Not the Southern Management Association journal 		219 173 1.266
37 HuffPost
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#HuffPost contributors, staff is debatable, contributors/editorial partners are not reliable.
All 12 HuffPost-related entries
217 205 1.059
38 Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks
[WP:CIRCULAR / WP:MIRROR]
Many entries are listed for mirroring small excerpts only.
All 20 Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks-related entries
201 188 1.069
39 Science Publishing Group | {{doi|10.11648}}
[Beall's publisher list · Beall's publisher list / update]
Social Sciences could be multiple other journals. Several of SPG journals are named either identically or are very similar to other publications, e.g. International Journal of Data Science and Analysis vs International Journal of Data Science and Analytics and may thus have similar ISO 4 abbreviations. It was founded in 2012, so references prior to 2012 are unlikely to be of this publisher.
All 20 Science Publishing Group-related entries
196 180 1.089
40 Aging (journal)
[Beall's journal list] 		191 150 1.273
41 Medical Hypotheses
[See [2]]
Purposefully not peer-reviewed. 		188 152 1.237
42 Psychology Today
[Quackwatch's list] 		158 133 1.188
43 Symbiosis (publisher) | {{doi|10.15226}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		139 126 1.103
44 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
[Quackwatch's list] 		137 112 1.223
45 Marquis Who's Who
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Marquis Who's Who.
All 17 Marquis Who's Who-related entries
127 111 1.144
46 Diva Enterprises | {{doi|10.5958}}
[UGC]
Several of their journal fail UGC criteria. Those that pass are listed here. Those from listed as UGC Group 1 are probably fine. UGC Group II could be fine, depending on the database. Those without UGC recognition are very likely not fine. Those unmentioned are definitely not fine.
All 52 Diva Enterprises-related entries
121 115 1.052
47 Genetics and Molecular Research | {{doi|10.4238}}
[Beall's journal list] 		118 107 1.103
48 International Journal of Nanomedicine
[Beall's journal list / update] 		112 80 1.400
49 Munis Entomology & Zoology
[Beall's journal list] 		110 97 1.134
50 American Scientific Publishers | {{doi|10.1166}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 21 American Scientific Publishers-related entries
99 87 1.138
51 Spectrum (magazine)
[Quackwatch's list] 		98 84 1.167
52 Project Innovation
[Beall's publisher list]
These journals were acquired by Project Innovations at some point, but were well-established before that. Project Innovations also switched owners at several points, the most recent being 2004. Unclear when problems with publisher started. 		96 90 1.067
53 OMICS Publishing Group | {{doi|10.11131}} · {{doi|10.12715}} · {{doi|10.14303}} · {{doi|10.15412}} · {{doi|10.21767}} · {{doi|10.24105}} · {{doi|10.3371}} · {{doi|10.36648}} · {{doi|10.37532}} · {{doi|10.4066}} · {{doi|10.4172}} · {{doi|10.47128}} · {{doi|10.54931}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Vegetos is published by Springer Nature since 2019.
All 21 OMICS Publishing Group-related entries
92 85 1.082
54 Creationism
[Unreliable fields]
All 21 Creationism-related entries
90 61 1.475
55 Daily Express
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Daily Express. 		81 74 1.095
56 Pulsus Group | {{doi|10.19144}} · {{doi|10.21282}} · {{doi|10.4066}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Purchased by OMICS Publishing Group in 2016. The Journal of Agriculture is likely an older, non-Pulsus journal.
All 19 Pulsus Group-related entries
64 63 1.016
57 Pharmacognosy Reviews
[Beall's journal list / update] 		64 59 1.085
58 IGI Global | {{doi|10.4018}}
[[3] · [4]]
IGI Global is mostly criticized for it's book-publishing practices. Criticism is mostly silent on its journals, several of which have impact factors.
All 42 IGI Global-related entries
58 57 1.018
59 Alternative Medicine Review
[Quackwatch's list] 		58 53 1.094
60 African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines
[Beall's journal list] 		56 54 1.037
61 Anti-vaccine movement
[Unreliable fields]
See also WP:JCW/PATTERNS#CAM.
All 11 Anti-vaccine movement-related entries
56 45 1.244
62 Nucleus
[Lying about DOAJ]
Make sure it's ISSN 1982-2278, there are many other publications with the same/similar name. 		55 49 1.122
63 Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
[Beall's journal list / update] 		51 49 1.041
64 International Journal of Computer Applications
[Lying about DOAJ · Beall's publisher list] 		51 49 1.041
65 Alchemy
[Unreliable fields]
All 16 Alchemy-related entries
51 48 1.062
66 Homeopathy
[Unreliable fields]
All 9 Homeopathy-related entries
50 28 1.786
67 Scientific Research Publishing | {{doi|10.4236}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Chinese Medicine likely refers to the BioMed Central journal. Comput. Chem. likely refers to Computer & Chemistry.
All 9 Scientific Research Publishing-related entries
48 44 1.091
68 National Association of Scholars | {{doi|10.51845}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		47 44 1.068
69 Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine
[Quackwatch's list] 		42 28 1.500
70 Research Square | {{doi|10.21203}}
[—]
Preprint service 		41 41 1.000
71 Genes & Cancer
[Beall's journal list] 		41 35 1.171
72 Astrology
[Unreliable fields]
All 12 Astrology-related entries
40 33 1.212
73 Science Publications | {{doi|10.3844}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 12 Science Publications-related entries
39 39 1.000
74 Journal of Physical Therapy Science
[Beall's journal list] 		38 29 1.310
75 African Research Review
[Beall's publisher list] 		37 34 1.088
76 Jaypee Journals | {{doi|10.5005}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 13 Jaypee Journals-related entries
36 34 1.059
77 International Institute for Science, Technology and Education | {{doi|10.7176}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Search for iiste.org 		36 29 1.241
78 HIV/AIDS denialism
[Unreliable fields] 		36 26 1.385
79 Genocide denial
[Unreliable fields] 		36 15 2.400
80 Bioinformation | {{doi|10.6026}}
[Beall's journal list] 		35 33 1.061
81 Vegetarian Times
[Quackwatch's list] 		35 32 1.094
82 Bridges (magazine)
[Quackwatch's list] 		35 28 1.250
83 Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies
[Beall's journal list] 		34 31 1.097
84 Journal of Psychology and Theology
[Beall's journal list] 		34 29 1.172
85 CESNUR
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#CESNUR. 		34 24 1.417
86 Journal of Environmental Biology
[Beall's journal list] 		33 32 1.031
87 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons
[Beall's journal list · Quackwatch's list] 		32 23 1.391
88 Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences
[Beall's journal list] 		30 30 1.000
89 Medium (website)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Medium. 		28 27 1.037
90 North American Journal of Medical Sciences | {{doi|10.4297}}
[Beall's journal list / update] 		28 26 1.077
91 Serials Publications
[Beall's publisher list]
Man in India dates from well before Serials Publications came about. Date of acquisition unclear. 		28 26 1.077
92 Authorea | {{doi|10.15200}} · {{doi|10.22541}}
[—]
Preprints 		28 23 1.217
93 Alternative & Complementary Therapies
[Quackwatch's list] 		27 27 1.000
94 European Journal of Social Sciences
[Beall's journal list]
Possibly hijacked. The journal published by Librairie Droz, hosted on Open Edition is legitimate. The one published by Social Sciences Research Platform is listed by Beall. 		27 25 1.080
95 International Journal of Mathematics
[Lying about DOAJ]
Refers to the IAEME journal, not the World Scientific one 		27 24 1.125
96 Kowsar Publishing | {{doi|10.5812}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 11 Kowsar Publishing-related entries
27 22 1.227
97 Allied Academies | {{doi|10.35841}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 15 Allied Academies-related entries
26 26 1.000
98 Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science
[Beall's journal list] 		26 26 1.000
99 Interdisciplinary Toxicology
[Beall's journal list] 		26 25 1.040
100 International Journal of Science and Research | {{doi|10.21275}}
[Beall's journal list] 		26 25 1.040
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