An article, ‘The Pandemic of “Predatory” Rankings: Why Academic Integrity Fails the Stress Test’, posted at Preprints.org by the independent researcher Vladimir M. Moskovkin, reveals widespread fraud involving fake sites purporting to contain data from the Webometrics rankings and using fake domains ending in org, com, and online. The article is reported in University World News by Wagdy Sawahel.
The only genuine source of Webometrics ranking data is on figshare and complete data is available on request. Readers are advised to avoid using the fake sites. Webometrics has indicated that any universities citing the fake rankings will be penalised without notice in the genuine rankings.
The article reports that several universities have been citing their status in these rankings as evidence of their academic excellence. The largest number are in Indonesia, but institutions in Turkiye, Ukraine, the Philippines, South Africa, Egypt, Montenegro, Spain, and Portugal are also involved. The domains have even been reported to be selling “position enhancement services.”
Universities have been using these fake data to attract students, hire faculty, and boost their national and international prestige.
Moskovkin proposes several measures to combat the “pandemic of academic deception”, including standardisation of ranking ethics, identifying and blacklisting fraudulent rankings, mandatory source verification, and a global campaign for “digital hygiene.”
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