Nature investigation: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers at Columbia, Stanford
jmuiuc · x · 2026-09-26
- A month-long Nature investigation by Max Kozlov exposes a network of fake "elite" scientific societies recruiting top researchers through deceptive practices.
- Columbia computer scientist Julia Hirschberg was "elected" to the European Academy of Engineering (claiming 400+ members and 35 Nobel laureates), the Austrian Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Artificial Intelligence within months — believing these were major honors.
- Universities, including Columbia, publicly congratulated faculty, showing how the sham organizations exploit institutional credibility.
- Researchers at Columbia, Stanford and elsewhere were unaware the societies had no legitimacy.
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