- "An alarming retraction rate for scientific publications on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)"
- "Can tweets be used to detect problems early with scientific papers? A case study of three retracted COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 papers"

Literature on the Retraction of COVID-19 Papers

To date, a list of papers on COVID-19 have been retracted and withdrawn for spreading misinformation regarding the coronavirus or for containing obviously flawed data collection and results. Scientists and researchers alike now question the lack of quality in these retracted papers and study how different factors have contributed to the unusually high rates of retraction on COVID-19-related papers. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

A published piece of scientific work can be rescinded, or retracted, when its data is called into question due to fabrication, falsification, or severe flaws in research design. This formal process alerts the scientific community to serious problems with the original study. A retraction can be initiated by the study's lead researcher, their research collaborators, their employing institution, or the editorial board of the publishing journal.

Retraction of Scientific Publications

- "Other than detecting impact in advance, alternative metrics could act as early warning signs of retractions: tentative findings of a study into the papers retracted by PLoS ONE"
- "Allegation of scientific misconduct increases Twitter attention"
- "Temporal characteristics of retracted articles"

Literature on the Retraction of Publications

Preprints, unlike traditionally peer-reviewed papers, do not need to undergo careful scrutiny and are thus able to be published and uploaded to servers much more efficiently. During the initial COVID-19 outbreak, many researchers uploaded their findings on preprint servers for others to study and reference, despite containing quite some false information. Since then, preprints have become a major source of the spread of misinformation regarding COVID-19 due to countless new papers that have cited preprints that are now retracted, withdrawn, or have completely disappeared. 

Retraction of COVID-19-Related Preprints

Retraction of COVID-19 Papers

A notable example of retracted research is the false claim that routine childhood vaccines cause autism. Although several peer-reviewed studies initially supported this link, large-scale epidemiological research demonstrated no connection and affirmed vaccine safety. The original studies were retracted after it was revealed that the lead researcher had a significant financial conflict of interest in establishing the link.

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