(30 Sep 2025) Manipulating figures with tools like Photoshop tends to leave telltale signs such as random straight lines and duplications. ‘With AI-generated images, those hallmarks are gone,’ says image integrity consultant Mike Rossner. Some attempts at sneaking AI-generated images into papers – for example an illustration of a rat with giant testicles – are almost laughably…
(13 Nov 2024) Amidst the ongoing issues of research integrity and paper mills, image integrity is a growing concern. The rise of generative AI poses significant additional risks, as it allows for the generation of images and other types of data that are very hard — if not impossible — to detect with current technologies. For this reason, STM funded a report developed by MoreBrains Cooperative, looking into the feasibility of technical…
(12 Aug 2024) This year marks the 20th anniversary of awareness regarding image manipulation in biomedical literature, highlighting significant changes and ongoing challenges in the field by Mike Rossner. Twenty years ago, people were either unaware of the problem of image manipulation in the biomedical literature, or they thought the problem was so minor…
(8 Jun 2024) The recent and dramatic increase in AI-generated images is blurring the lines of what’s real and fake—and underscores the need for more tools to discern between the two. In a recent study, researchers in Italy analyzed a suite of AI models designed to identify fake images, finding these current methods to be…
(8 Feb 2024) Morressier today announced its partnership with imagetwin. Under the partnership, Morressier’s workflows now feature automated analysis of scientific images, providing editors and peer reviewers with tools to detect potential issues such as plagiarism and manipulation, early and at scale. Leveraging recent advances in machine learning, imagetwin can now automatically and rapidly…
(4 Jan 2024) In recent years, the research community has become increasingly concerned with issues involving the manipulation of images in scientific papers. Some of these alterations—involving images from experimental techniques such as microscopy, flow cytometry, and western blots—are inadvertent and may not change the conclusions of papers. But in rare cases, some are done…
(22 Aug 2022) Taylor & Francis has announced the beginning of a 6-month pilot of Proofig image integrity software, as part of an ongoing program to prevent image duplication and manipulation in academic journal articles. Image duplication or manipulation is a serious form of misconduct which involves inappropriately duplicating, manipulating, or fabricating images. Even where image duplication…
(21 Dec 2021) Just before a study appears in any of ten journals published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), it undergoes an unusual extra check. Since January 2021, the AACR has been using artificial intelligence (AI) software on all manuscripts it has provisionally accepted after peer review. The aim is to automatically…
(21 Sep 2021) Retraction Watch readers are likely familiar with the varied — and often unsatisfying — responses of journals to scientific sleuthing that uncovers potential problems with published images. Some editors take the issues seriously, even hiring staff to respond to allegations and vet manuscripts before publication. Some, however, take years to handle the allegations, or ignore them altogether.…
A government-backed ethics board found duplicate images and other visual discrepancies in papers by three of the five researchers it investigated, but no evidence of plagiarism. (22 Jan 2021) Following a long investigation, five high-profile Chinese scientists have been cleared of allegations of plagiarism and academic fraud, a scientific integrity board under the central…