SCOOP: Top researchers at Columbia, Stanford, and others thought they were elected to elite scientific societies alongside Nobel laureates. The catch? The organizations are a sham.
I spent the last month investigating a massive academic scam, for @Nature
nature.com/articles/d41586-0…
Sep 25, 2026 · 9:20 PM UTC
These sham academies often use digitally manipulated photos, plagiarized content and scientists' identities without their consent
eg The European Academy of Engineering, supposedly headquarted in Sweden, was actually using a doctored photo of the University of Gothenburg (below)
The deception starts by misleading prominent scientists into lending their credibility. Columbia computer scientist Julia Hirschberg said she was thrilled to elected to 3 orgs.
Then she saw the website of one of them: she was listed as the chairperson, a job she never accepted.
Why go through the trouble? To sell credentials to early-career researchers, particularly in China, it appears.
Education specialist Fan Xiudi told me China's hyper-competitive research system relies heavily on honorary titles, creating a lucrative market for these sham groups.
The National Academy of Artificial Intelligence charges a $600 initiation fee for full membership.
It even advertises a "virtual PhD" for $10,000 and a "virtual postdoc" for $2,000. In return, you get a digital membership card and an official certificate designed for LinkedIn
Another example: in July, UC Berkeley's Michael Jordan demanded to be removed from NAAI after it started charging fees.
Instead, the society didn't remove him and falsely listed him as a featured speaker at an October conference charging up to $600 for attendance.
But how did elite scientists get misled to join in the first place?
Rice University's @vardi told me he overlooked red flags—like a distorted AI-edited photo—because he saw his scientific idols listed as fellow award winners. He candidly admitted: "Ego played a role".
The bottom line? Academics contend with predatory journals and conferences, and now "deepfake prestige", as @vardi called it.
AI tools are only turbocharging this behavior and making it harder than ever to detect. Just as fast as one website goes down, another 10 can launch.
This thread only skims the surface of the juicy details we uncovered in this investigation.
The full article is below. If you hit a paywall, make a free account. Have experiences with these orgs, or have another investigation I should pursue? DM me.
nature.com/articles/d41586-0…
great investigation:
the pics of the shutdown site are also here
baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%AC%…
they actually belong to obv. different events 😬
eric-forum.eu/2019/06/07/221…
jordantimes.com/news/local/k…
Chaoyang Zhu
as"director"of IIEP at the first NAAI conference 🤯
m.mydrivers.com/newsview/102…
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