AI-hallucinated citations are creeping into papers that shape clinical guidelines, researchers warn

A large audit of 2.47 million biomedical papers found 4,046 fabricated references in 2,810 papers.

Citation-fraud rates were flat in 2023 but rose more than twelvefold from mid-2024 into 2026.

The Lancet study suggests language-model use may be contributing, with review articles hit especially hard.

Researchers call for automated citation checks and stronger safeguards to protect clinical guidelines and research integrity.