GoKawiilStudy finds firms advertising paid freelance peer-review jobs for journals
A preprint posted on MetaArXiv on September 8 identified roughly 1,000 online ads for freelance peer-reviewer positions and included interviews with five current and former researchers in India, Spain and the UK who said they had taken such jobs. The study, led by Radboud University's Amna Pottarath, suggests some journals may be outsourcing peer review to third-party firms, though it does not name specific journals or quantify how widespread the practice is.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Peer review has traditionally been unpaid academic labor, but rising submission volumes are straining the system and slowing decisions for authors, according to editors quoted in the coverage. The emergence of paid freelance review markets could reshape incentives and accountability in scholarly publishing, though the preprint has not yet been peer-reviewed itself and leaves open questions about which journals are involved and how review quality is maintained.
- A preprint found about 1,000 ads for freelance peer-review jobs and interviewed five researchers who took such work.
- Some journals reportedly outsource peer review to third-party firms, though the study doesn't confirm which ones.
- Editors like Biology Open's Daniel Gorelick say paid review can speed decisions but must remain transparent and prioritize quality.
Source: nature.com — Naddaf, 2026-09-28
Published there as: “Paid to peer review: firms are paying researchers to assess manuscripts for journals”
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