The preprint platform will penalise authors whose papers contain hallucinated references or leftover LLM instructions. A Lancet study found fabricated citations in biomedical papers rose twelvefold since 2023.

Arxiv, the influential preprint server where researchers worldwide publish their work before formal peer review, is tightening its rules on AI-generated content.

The change comes as arXiv and others struggle to manage an influx of AI-generated materials masquerading as rigorous science.