
Ivan Oransky
Retraction Watch / The Center For Scientific Integrity
Ivan Oransky is co-founder of Retraction Watch, editor in chief of The Transmitter, and distinguished journalist in residence at New York University's Arthur Carter Journalism Institute. Ivan previously was president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and vice president of editorial at Medscape. He has also held editorial leadership positions at MedPage Today, Reuters Health, Scientific American and The Scientist. He is the recipient of the 2015 John P. McGovern Medal for excellence in biomedical communication from the American Medical Writers Association, and in 2017 was awarded an honorary doctorate in civil laws from The University of the South (Sewanee). In 2019, the judges for the John Maddox Prize, which promotes those who stand up for science in the face of hostility, gave him a commendation for his work at Retraction Watch, and in 2025 the Council of Science Editors gave Retraction Watch the Award for Meritorious Achievement, their highest honor.
All Sessions by Ivan Oransky
Retractions: On The Rise, But Not Enough
In 2000, there were about 40 retractions from the scholarly literature. In 2023, there were more than 10,000. That is a dramatic increase, even accounting for the growing number of papers published per year. In this talk, I will explore the reasons for the increase, why it is good news, and why the real number should be even higher. Drawing on more than a decade and a half of experience at Retraction Watch, I will tell the stories of the sleuths who are finding problems in the literature. And I will talk about how everyone can avoid ending up in the Retraction Watch Database -- or end up there for a good reason.