Dynamics of cross-platform attention to retracted papers

Hao Peng, Daniel M. Romero and Emőke-Ágnes Horvát
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Hao Peng: a School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;
Daniel M. Romero: a School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;; b Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;; c Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;
Emőke-Ágnes Horvát: d School of Communication, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208;; e McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208; and; f Northwestern University Institute on Complex Systems, Evanston, IL 60208

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, vol. 119, issue 25, e2119086119

Abstract: Scientific retraction has been on the rise recently. Retracted papers are frequently discussed online, enabling the broad dissemination of potentially flawed findings. Our analysis spans a nearly 10-y period and reveals that most papers exhaust their attention by the time they get retracted, meaning that retractions cannot curb the online spread of problematic papers. This is striking as we also find that retracted papers are pervasive across mediums, receiving more attention after publication than nonretracted papers even on curated platforms, such as news outlets and knowledge repositories. Interestingly, discussions on social media express more criticism toward subsequently retracted results and may thus contain early signals related to unreliable work.

Keywords: retraction; science of science; collective attention; scientific misinformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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