GoKawiilNature investigation finds fake academies recruiting real scientists without consent
Nature reports that organizations calling themselves the European Academy of Engineering, the Austrian Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Artificial Intelligence have been electing prominent researchers, including Columbia University's Julia Hirschberg, to memberships and leadership roles they never agreed to hold. Hirschberg says she was listed as a rotating chairperson on the EAE website despite never accepting the position, and the group's secretariat told Nature he had "inferred" her consent from an email exchange that contained no such agreement.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The episode suggests a pattern of dubious credentialing bodies exploiting researchers' desire for recognition to build an appearance of legitimacy, potentially misleading institutions, funders or the public who see these titles listed on CVs or university announcements. Nature indicates Hirschberg is not an isolated case, which could point to a broader effort to manufacture prestige for organizations with little real standing in the scientific community.
- Julia Hirschberg was named to leadership of the European Academy of Engineering without her consent.
- The EAE's secretariat claimed her consent was 'inferred' from correspondence that included no explicit agreement.
- Nature reports Hirschberg's case reflects a wider pattern of sham scientific societies targeting researchers.
Source: nature.com — Kozlov, 2026-09-25
Published there as: “Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers”
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