Citicious

Detect retracted articles and fake/hallucinated citations in scientific papers

Citicious is a Chrome extension that helps researchers and readers identify:

• Retracted articles - Papers that have been formally retracted by journals
• Retracted citations - References in a paper that cite retracted articles
• Fake citations - Potentially hallucinated citations (e.g., from LLM-generated content)

Features

• Top Banner Alert - Prominent warning when viewing a retracted article
• Inline Badges - Visual indicators next to each reference
• Sidebar Panel - Detailed information about all citations on the page
• Manual DOI Check - Check any DOI directly from the popup
• Works Everywhere - Supports PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Nature, arXiv, and many more

How It Works

1. Retraction Detection: Uses the Retraction Watch Database via CrossRef API (68,000+ retracted articles)
2. Citation Validation: Verifies citations against CrossRef and OpenAlex APIs
3. Fake Detection: Identifies potentially hallucinated citations by checking if DOIs exist and comparing metadata (authors, year, title, journal)

Screenshot

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ⚠️ This article has been RETRACTED                          │
│ Retraction · Retracted: Jan 15, 2024 · Reason: Plagiarism   │
│ View retraction notice →                                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Installation

From Source (Development)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/choxos/citicious.git
   cd citicious

2. Install dependencies and build the extension:

   cd extension
   npm install
   npm run build

3. Load in Chrome:

   • Go to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable "Developer mode"
   • Click "Load unpacked"
   • Select the extension/dist folder

Backend Setup (Optional)

The extension can use a local backend for enhanced performance:

1. Set up PostgreSQL database

2. Install backend dependencies:

   cd backend
   npm install
   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your database credentials

3. Initialize database and import Retraction Watch data:

   npm run db:push
   npm run import:retractions ../retraction_watch.csv

4. Start the server:

   npm run dev

Citation Status Types

Status	Badge	Description
Retracted	⚠️ RETRACTED	Article has been formally retracted
Fake	❌ FAKE	Citation could not be verified in databases
Suspicious	❓ SUSPICIOUS	Metadata discrepancies found
Verified	✓ Verified	Citation confirmed valid

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/v1/check/retraction	POST	Check if DOI/PMID is retracted
/api/v1/check/citation	POST	Validate citation exists & metadata
/api/v1/check/full	POST	Combined retraction + validation check
/api/v1/check/batch	POST	Batch check multiple citations
/api/v1/health	GET	Health check
/api/v1/stats	GET	Database statistics

Tech Stack

• Extension: Chrome Manifest V3, TypeScript, Webpack
• Backend: Node.js, Fastify, TypeScript
• Database: PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
• External APIs: CrossRef, OpenAlex

Data Sources

• Retraction Watch Database - 68,000+ retracted articles, updated daily
• CrossRef API - DOI metadata and retraction notices
• OpenAlex API - Open catalog of scholarly works

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Ahmad Sofi-Mahmudi

• GitHub: @choxos
• LinkedIn: asofimahmudi
• X/Twitter: @ASofiMahmudi

Acknowledgments

• Crossref for the Retraction Watch Database API
• OpenAlex for the open scholarly metadata API
• Retraction Watch for their invaluable work in tracking retractions