Anti-Abuse and Publication Integrity Policy
1. Purpose and Scope
RITHA Publishing is committed to protecting the integrity, independence, transparency, and reliability of scholarly publishing and the scholarly record.
This Anti-Abuse and Publication Integrity Policy establishes the Publisher's framework for preventing, identifying, investigating, and addressing attempts to manipulate or abuse the publication process.
The Policy applies to all journals, books, book series, and other scholarly content published by RITHA Publishing, and to all participants in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, Guest Editors, contributors, institutional representatives, and third-party service providers.
This Policy should be read in conjunction with RITHA Publishing's Editorial Policies, Ethical Standards, Peer-Reviewing Policies, AI and Generative Technologies Policy, and other applicable publication and research integrity policies.
RITHA Publishing follows internationally recognised principles of publication ethics and relevant guidance issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
2. Forms of Publication Abuse
RITHA Publishing considers any deliberate attempt to deceive, manipulate, circumvent, improperly influence, or compromise the editorial and peer-review process to constitute publication abuse.
Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:
· fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of research, data, results, sources, or references;
· submission of manuscripts produced or substantially manipulated by paper mills or other fraudulent publication services;
· manipulation of the peer-review process, including fabricated reviewer identities, false contact information, impersonation, coordinated reviewing arrangements, or attempts to influence reviewer selection improperly;
· inappropriate manipulation of authorship, including purchased, sold, guest, gift, ghost, or otherwise unjustified authorship;
· undisclosed or unjustified changes to authorship during or after peer review;
· manuscript substitution or substantial replacement of the reviewed manuscript after acceptance without editorial authorization;
· duplicate or redundant publication and inappropriate simultaneous submission;
· citation manipulation, citation stacking, coercive citation practices, or inclusion of irrelevant references intended primarily to influence citation metrics;
· manipulation, fabrication, inappropriate alteration, or misrepresentation of images, figures, datasets, supplementary materials, or research documentation;
· false statements concerning affiliations, qualifications, ethical approvals, funding, conflicts of interest, contributor roles, or provenance of data;
· misuse of generative artificial intelligence or automated tools in ways that compromise the originality, accuracy, transparency, confidentiality, or integrity of scholarly work;
· attempts to circumvent plagiarism screening, AI-related checks, research-integrity screening, or other editorial safeguards;
· unauthorized interference with editorial systems, accounts, communications, or manuscript records;
· coordinated submission or publication practices designed to manipulate journal, author, institutional, or citation metrics;
· undisclosed third-party involvement intended to guarantee acceptance or improperly influence editorial decisions.
3. Protection of Editorial and Peer-Review Independence
Editorial decisions must be based exclusively on scholarly quality, relevance, originality, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal.
Authors, reviewers, editors, or third parties must not attempt to influence an editorial decision through personal pressure, financial incentives, threats, harassment, coercion, reputational pressure, or other inappropriate means.
Reviewers must provide independent, objective, and professional assessments. Review reports containing abusive, discriminatory, defamatory, threatening, or inappropriate personal comments may be rejected or edited, and the reviewer may be excluded from future reviewing activities.
Editors and Guest Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and must not use their position to obtain inappropriate authorship, citations, personal benefits, or preferential publication treatment.
4. Citation Integrity
References must be academically relevant and justified by the content of the manuscript. RITHA Publishing does not tolerate requests or practices intended primarily to artificially increase citations to particular authors, journals, institutions, or publications. Authors are not required to cite articles from the journal to which they submit unless those references are genuinely relevant to their research. Editors and reviewers must not request unnecessary citations to their own work or to particular journals for the purpose of influencing citation indicators.
5. Third-Party and Paper-Mill Activity
The use of legitimate language editing, translation, statistical consultation, or technical support is permitted when appropriately acknowledged where required.
However, RITHA Publishing prohibits involvement with services that fabricate or manipulate manuscripts, data, authorship, peer review, citations, or other elements of the publication process. Where a manuscript displays patterns consistent with paper-mill activity or systematic publication manipulation, RITHA Publishing may investigate the manuscript individually and, where appropriate, in connection with related submissions, publications, authors, reviewers, or third parties.
6. Investigation of Suspected Abuse
When potential publication abuse is identified, RITHA Publishing may initiate an editorial integrity investigation before or after publication.
Depending on the circumstances, the investigation may include:
· requesting explanations, original data, ethical approvals, authorship documentation, or other supporting evidence;
· verifying author, reviewer, editor, or institutional identities and affiliations;
· examining submission histories, peer-review records, authorship changes, citation patterns, and related manuscripts;
· comparing manuscripts or published articles where coordinated or systematic manipulation is suspected;
· suspending peer review, acceptance, production, or publication while an investigation is ongoing;
· consulting relevant editors, independent experts, institutions, publishers, or other appropriate bodies where necessary.
Authors and other parties concerned will normally be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to material concerns before a final decision is made. The absence of a response does not prevent RITHA Publishing from reaching an editorial decision based on the available evidence.
Investigations will be conducted in accordance with applicable COPE guidance and RITHA Publishing procedures, while ensuring procedural fairness and appropriate documentation of the case.
7. Actions and Sanctions
Where publication abuse or a serious breach of publication integrity is established or sufficiently substantiated, RITHA Publishing may take one or more proportionate actions, including: rejection of the manuscript; withdrawal of an editorial acceptance; suspension of manuscript processing; correction of the published record; publication of an Expression of Concern; retraction of the article; removal of a reviewer from the reviewer database; removal or suspension of an editor, Guest Editor, or Editorial Board member from an editorial role; temporary restriction on new submissions from individuals involved in serious or repeated abuse; notification of relevant institutions, publishers, research-integrity bodies, or other appropriate organisations where justified; other measures necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Decisions will be based on the nature, severity, evidence, recurrence, and potential impact of the conduct and will follow applicable RITHA Publishing policies and relevant publication-ethics guidance.
8. Systematic or Coordinated Manipulation
RITHA Publishing reserves the right to investigate groups of manuscripts or articles where evidence suggests coordinated or systematic manipulation of the publication process.
Evidence may include recurring similarities in manuscripts, authorship patterns, reviewer identities, contact information, peer-review reports, references, data, images, submission behaviour, or other indicators suggesting a common source or coordinated activity.
Cases involving Special Issues, Guest Editors, or groups of related submissions may receive additional integrity checks where warranted.
9. Confidentiality and Due Process
Publication-integrity investigations will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible.
Information will be disclosed only to persons or organisations whose involvement is necessary to investigate, resolve, or document the matter, or where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect the scholarly record.
RITHA Publishing seeks to apply its procedures consistently and proportionately and will distinguish, where reasonably possible, between honest error and deliberate or systematic manipulation.
10. Post-Publication Integrity
Responsibility for publication integrity does not end when an article is published.
Credible concerns raised after publication will be assessed and, where necessary, investigated. RITHA Publishing may issue corrections, Expressions of Concern, retractions, or other notices in accordance with the nature and severity of the identified problem and applicable publication-ethics guidance.
Post-publication notices will be linked to the original article whenever technically possible to preserve the transparency of the scholarly record.
11. Reporting Concerns
Publication integrity concerns may be reported to the relevant Journal Editorial Office or directly to RITHA Publishing at: office@ritha.eu
Reports should provide sufficient information and, where possible, supporting evidence to allow the concern to be assessed.
Good-faith concerns will be considered seriously. Knowingly false, malicious, threatening, or repeatedly abusive allegations may themselves constitute misuse of the editorial process.
12. Relationship with Other RITHA Publishing Policies
This Policy should be read together with the relevant journal and RITHA Publishing policies concerning:
· Publication Ethics and Malpractice;
· Authorship and Contributorship;
· Peer Review;
· Conflicts of Interest;
· Plagiarism and Research Integrity;
· Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies;
· Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern;
· Complaints and Appeals;
· Research Data and Ethical Approval, where applicable.
Where policies overlap, they should be interpreted consistently with the objective of protecting the integrity, independence, transparency, and reliability of the scholarly record.
13. Policy Application
This Policy applies to all journals, books, book series, and other scholarly content published by RITHA Publishing, irrespective of discipline, publication model, or publication-specific editorial procedures.
Individual journals may adopt additional integrity requirements appropriate to their disciplinary fields, provided that these do not weaken the standards established by this Policy.
RITHA Publishing may revise this Policy periodically to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, research-integrity standards, and relevant COPE guidance.
Effective Date: 1 August 2026
Last Updated: 1 August 2026
Applies To: All Journals, Books, Book Series, and scholarly content published by RITHA Publishing