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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 20 December 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 519 MDPI-related entries
26872 18975 1.416
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 302 Frontiers Media-related entries
17694 12269 1.442
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 280 Hijacked journal-related entries
7189 5849 1.229
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 610 Hindawi (publisher)-related entries
6611 5694 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 550 Medknow Publications-related entries
6170 4676 1.320
6 Bentham Science Publishers | {{doi|10.2174}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Bentham Open is listed, although Bentham Science Publishers is not.
All 322 Bentham Science Publishers-related entries
4058 3197 1.269
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 163 Dove Medical Press-related entries
2595 2130 1.218
8 Alternative medicine
[Unreliable fields]
Some field are more unreliable than others
All 388 Alternative medicine-related entries
2538 1793 1.416
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 277 Case report-related entries
1998 1640 1.218
10 Parapsychology
[Unreliable fields]
Several skeptical publications setting out to debunk rather than promote nonsensical claims may be included here.
All 79 Parapsychology-related entries
1402 945 1.484
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
1372 1036 1.324
12 Pseudo-scholarship
[Unreliable fields]
All 251 Pseudo-scholarship-related entries
1149 950 1.209
13 Current Science
[Beall's journal list / update] 		1140 960 1.188
14 Tabloid journalism
[Unreliable fields]
All 31 Tabloid journalism-related entries
1066 570 1.870
15 Cureus | {{doi|10.7759}}
[—]
Uses crowd-sourced "post-publication peer-review". 		824 732 1.126
16 AME Publishing Company | {{doi|10.21037}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 73 AME Publishing Company-related entries
771 632 1.220
17 ResearchGate | {{doi|10.13140}}
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#ResearchGate.
All 216 ResearchGate-related entries
762 696 1.095
18 Propaganda
[Unreliable fields]
All 199 Propaganda-related entries
674 557 1.210
19 Impact Journals (New York State, USA) | {{doi|10.18632}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		667 545 1.224
20 Conspiracy theory
[Unreliable fields]
All 75 Conspiracy theory-related entries
662 569 1.163
21 F1000 (publisher) | {{doi|10.12688}} · {{doi|10.12703}} · {{doi|10.21955}} · {{doi|10.21956}} · {{doi|10.3410}} · {{doi|10.4089}} · {{doi|10.5256}} · {{doi|10.7490}}
[See [1]]
All 30 F1000 (publisher)-related entries
546 466 1.172
22 Forbes
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Forbes.com contributors, staff is reliable, contributors are not.
All 15 Forbes-related entries
541 471 1.149
23 Blog hosting services
[WP:SPSLIST]
See WP:BLOGS.
All 205 Blog hosting services-related entries
465 407 1.143
24 Oncotarget
[Beall's journal list] 		462 399 1.158
25 Race and intelligence controversy
[Unreliable fields]
All 10 Race and intelligence controversy-related entries
430 209 2.057
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. 		401 368 1.090
27 Frontiers in Bioscience | {{doi|10.2741}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		364 343 1.061
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 24 Medwell Journals-related entries
324 281 1.153
29 Chiropractic
[Unreliable fields]
All 33 Chiropractic-related entries
317 165 1.921
30 Daily Star (United Kingdom)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Daily Star. 		287 158 1.816
31 Unpublished
[—]
May simply be in need of being updated to the published version. Otherwise, these probably fail WP:V.
All 156 Unpublished-related entries
265 240 1.104
32 Quadrant (magazine)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Quadrant. 		253 163 1.552
33 e-Century Publishing Corporation
[Beall's publisher list]
All 20 e-Century Publishing Corporation-related entries
234 221 1.059
34 Superseded theories in science
[Unreliable fields]
All 48 Superseded theories in science-related entries
232 209 1.110
35 Canadian Center of Science and Education | {{doi|10.5539}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 32 Canadian Center of Science and Education-related entries
228 215 1.060
36 Journal of Management
[Lying about DOAJ]
Not the Southern Management Association journal 		223 176 1.267
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
216 205 1.054
38 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 32 Science Publishing Group-related entries
215 198 1.086
39 Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks
[WP:CIRCULAR / WP:MIRROR]
Many entries are listed for mirroring small excerpts only.
All 34 Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks-related entries
210 198 1.061
40 Medical Hypotheses
[See [2]]
Purposefully not peer-reviewed. 		194 157 1.236
41 Aging (journal)
[Beall's journal list] 		191 151 1.265
42 Psychology Today
[Quackwatch's list] 		159 134 1.187
43 Symbiosis (publisher) | {{doi|10.15226}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		142 128 1.109
44 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
[Quackwatch's list] 		136 112 1.214
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 51 Diva Enterprises-related entries
120 114 1.053
47 Genetics and Molecular Research | {{doi|10.4238}}
[Beall's journal list] 		119 108 1.102
48 International Journal of Nanomedicine
[Beall's journal list / update] 		113 81 1.395
49 Munis Entomology & Zoology
[Beall's journal list] 		109 96 1.135
50 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 37 OMICS Publishing Group-related entries
108 100 1.080
51 American Scientific Publishers | {{doi|10.1166}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 22 American Scientific Publishers-related entries
101 89 1.135
52 Spectrum (magazine)
[Quackwatch's list] 		98 84 1.167
53 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
54 Creationism
[Unreliable fields]
All 22 Creationism-related entries
92 63 1.460
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
66 65 1.015
57 Pharmacognosy Reviews
[Beall's journal list / update] 		66 61 1.082
58 Anti-vaccine movement
[Unreliable fields]
See also WP:JCW/PATTERNS#CAM.
All 13 Anti-vaccine movement-related entries
63 52 1.212
59 Alchemy
[Unreliable fields]
All 22 Alchemy-related entries
60 56 1.071
60 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
61 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 16 Scientific Research Publishing-related entries
58 54 1.074
62 Alternative Medicine Review
[Quackwatch's list] 		57 52 1.096
63 Astrology
[Unreliable fields]
All 23 Astrology-related entries
57 40 1.425
64 African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines
[Beall's journal list] 		56 54 1.037
65 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
66 International Journal of Computer Applications
[Lying about DOAJ · Beall's publisher list] 		52 50 1.040
67 Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
[Beall's journal list / update] 		51 49 1.041
68 Homeopathy
[Unreliable fields]
All 9 Homeopathy-related entries
50 28 1.786
69 National Association of Scholars | {{doi|10.51845}}
[Beall's publisher list] 		48 45 1.067
70 Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine
[Quackwatch's list] 		45 29 1.552
71 Research Square | {{doi|10.21203}}
[—]
Preprint service 		44 44 1.000
72 Jaypee Journals | {{doi|10.5005}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 15 Jaypee Journals-related entries
40 38 1.053
73 Genes & Cancer
[Beall's journal list] 		40 34 1.176
74 International Institute for Science, Technology and Education | {{doi|10.7176}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Search for iiste.org 		40 32 1.250
75 Science Publications | {{doi|10.3844}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 12 Science Publications-related entries
39 39 1.000
76 HIV/AIDS denialism
[Unreliable fields]
All 8 HIV/AIDS denialism-related entries
39 28 1.393
77 Genocide denial
[Unreliable fields]
All 11 Genocide denial-related entries
39 18 2.167
78 Journal of Physical Therapy Science
[Beall's journal list] 		38 29 1.310
79 Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies
[Beall's journal list] 		37 34 1.088
80 African Research Review
[Beall's publisher list] 		36 33 1.091
81 Bioinformation | {{doi|10.6026}}
[Beall's journal list] 		35 33 1.061
82 Wikipedia:Deprecated sources
[WP:DEPS § Currently deprecated sources]
All 13 Wikipedia:Deprecated sources-related entries
35 33 1.061
83 Vegetarian Times
[Quackwatch's list] 		35 32 1.094
84 Bridges (magazine)
[Quackwatch's list] 		35 28 1.250
85 CESNUR
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#CESNUR. 		35 25 1.400
86 Journal of Psychology and Theology
[Beall's journal list] 		34 29 1.172
87 Journal of Environmental Biology
[Beall's journal list] 		33 32 1.031
88 Authorea | {{doi|10.15200}} · {{doi|10.22541}}
[—]
Preprints 		32 27 1.185
89 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons
[Beall's journal list · Quackwatch's list] 		32 23 1.391
90 Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences
[Beall's journal list] 		31 31 1.000
91 IJPUB - International Peer Reviewed, Open Access Journal
[Beall's journal list / update · Lying about DOAJ] 		30 30 1.000
92 Allied Academies | {{doi|10.35841}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 16 Allied Academies-related entries
29 29 1.000
93 Medium (website)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Medium. 		29 28 1.036
94 International Journal of Mathematics
[Lying about DOAJ]
Refers to the IAEME journal, not the World Scientific one 		29 25 1.160
95 Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science
[Beall's journal list] 		28 28 1.000
96 North American Journal of Medical Sciences | {{doi|10.4297}}
[Beall's journal list / update] 		28 26 1.077
97 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
98 Alternative & Complementary Therapies
[Quackwatch's list] 		27 27 1.000
99 Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry
[Beall's journal list] 		27 26 1.038
100 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
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:WikiProject_Academic_Journals/Journals_cited_by_Wikipedia/Questionable1&oldid=1329233291"