Pseudonymous sleuth Claire Francis has flagged thousands of papers over the years, so they rarely see something new. But an email from Frontiers about an upcoming retraction on a paper Francis originally flagged offered just that: The option to be acknowledged in the retraction notice.

After years of publishers not routinely – or even often – naming sleuths despite many asking for their often unpaid and risky work to be acknowledged, the trend of acknowledging who identified issues in papers may be gaining momentum. Frontiers is one of several publishers developing such policies, and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) plans to release new guidelines in August that would recommend this practice.

Other publishers plan to follow suit. Both Springer Nature and Wiley representatives told us they are working on policies to acknowledge third parties across their journals.

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2025/07/30/noticed-sleuths-are-starting-to-get-credit-for-retractions/

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