This El País investigation examines the collapse of a once-high-output scientific journal, using it as a case study to expose the financial incentives and structural flaws of modern academic publishing. Publishers can generate enormous profits by prioritizing volume over rigor, relying on article-processing fees, lax peer review, and aggressive expansion to flood the literature with papers of uneven quality. As submissions surged, editorial oversight weakened, warnings from researchers were ignored, and credibility ultimately collapsed under the weight of retractions and scrutiny.

The piece situates this journal’s downfall within a broader critique of scientific publishing, where researchers—under pressure to publish—supply free labor as authors and reviewers while publishers reap billion-dollar revenues. The system rewards speed and scale rather than reliability, contributing to irreproducible research and eroding public trust in science.