I flagged two research papers for fake authors and both were accepted as orals (geospatialml.com)

Two researchers highlighted alarming issues during their review of 22 paper submissions across major conferences, revealing that a staggering 68% contained fabricated citations, fake author lists, or were generated by language models (LLMs). This phenomenon, referred to as being in the "slop trenches," indicates a growing problem within the AI/ML academic community where integrity in scientific writing is compromised. Audits have shown that over 146,900 hallucinated references appeared in 2025 alone, with most going unnoticed by reviewers. Some papers with such inaccuracies were even accepted for oral presentations, emphasizing a critical gap in the peer-review process. The significance of this issue extends beyond these individual papers, raising concerns about the reliability of scientific literature in an era increasingly influenced by AI. As LLMs become a substantial part of research workflows—both positively and negatively—the risk of accepting flawed submissions based on AI-generated content becomes tangible. This trend can undermine the quality of peer review, as studies show that a considerable percentage of reviews may also be AI-assisted. The researchers advocate for more stringent review practices to combat this "AI slop," underscoring a need for human diligence in maintaining the integrity of academic discourse amidst rapid technological advancements.