Hello, dear colleagues!
This is Vasily Malets — director of the «Academy of Articles» and author of the analytical column
«Journals That May Lose Their Scopus Indexing.»
Today marks the first issue of 2026, and it will be a landmark one.
This time, our list includes four journals and one fake case study that misled more than 1,000 scientists from around the world.
In this episode, we'll take a look at:
– 1 Q1 journal, which is already exhibiting dangerous editorial practices;
– 2 Q4 journals operating under predatory/commercial publication models;
– 1 case of a fake website that misled more than 1,000 scientists from around the world.
Unfortunately, all the publications on today’s list represent not isolated errors but entrenched predatory practices: mass publications without proper peer review, disregard for academic standards, and a focus not on science but on quick profits.
It is precisely these types of magazines that most often lead to:
wasted time and money for the authors;
problems with the acceptance of articles;
the risk of the journal being removed from Scopus in the near future.
In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at each journal, explain exactly which «red flags» authors need to watch out for, and why publishing in such journals in 2026 is a high-stakes gamble.
List of applicants
E-ISSN: 2385-409X
🔗 Link to Scopus:
https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100466202
🔗 Magazine website:
https://farmclin.com/volume/1
Review:
The *European Journal of Clinical Pharmacy* was reinstated in Scopus in 2025 following its previous deindexing. Immediately after its reinstatement, the journal began exhibiting a typical predatory publishing model, focused exclusively on mass publication of articles for financial gain.
In a single year, the journal published more than 300 articles of questionable quality—an unusually high number for a publication with a stated clinical focus. At the time of the analysis, none of these articles were indexed in Scopus, and it is highly likely that they will never be indexed.
Even in the case of partial indexing, given the quality of the content and the journal’s editorial policy, such publications are highly likely to be deindexed during reviews, and the journal itself will be removed from Scopus again.
Magazine profile:
- Quartile: Q4
- Country: Kuwait
- Subject: clinical pharmacy
- Publication cost: 300 USD
Main violations:
the mass publication of articles without adequate length restrictions;
the virtual absence of peer review or the purely formal nature of peer review;
the low scientific and methodological quality of the published materials;
a discrepancy between the stated topic and the actual content of the articles.
Risk assessment:
Probability of a journal being excluded from Scopus: 100%
Probability of articles not being indexed or subsequently de-indexed: 100%
E-ISSN: 2408-0071
🔗 Link to Scopus:
https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101061822
🔗 Magazine website:
https://sci-cult.com/archives
Review:
Scientific Culture is a journal that formally holds Q1 status in several fields, but its current editorial policy has long since fallen short of that standard. The journal was originally positioned as a specialized journal on culture, history, and archaeology.
Over time, the journal completely strayed from its academic path, opting for a model of aggressive commercialization. Today, Scientific Culture publishes «everything on every topic» in large volumes, with virtually no restrictions on subject matter or quality.
The officially announced deadlines are particularly alarming:
Review — up to 1 week;
Publication — up to 1 month.
For a Q1-level journal in the humanities, such deadlines are incompatible with a genuine, thorough peer review process. The publication fee is 1,200 pounds sterling, which clearly indicates a focus not on scholarship but on maximizing revenue.
Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q1
Country: China
Topics: culture, history, archaeology
Publication fee: 1,200 GBP
Main violations:
a sharp increase in the number of issues and published articles;
the virtual absence of a full peer-review process (unrealistic deadlines);
publication of materials of low scientific quality;
the systematic publication of articles that do not conform to the journal's Aims & Scope;
Replacing the academic journal model with a commercial one.
Risk assessment:
Probability of a journal being excluded from Scopus: 100%
Probability of deindexing articles that have already been indexed: 50–80%
⚠️ Key conclusion for the authors:
This is a classic example of a journal that is still technically in Q1, but based on behavioral and editorial indicators, is already in the critical-risk zone. Publishing here in 2026 would be a serious gamble with one’s own scientific reputation.
ISSN: 1053-7899
🔗 Link to Scopus:
https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/5300152536
🔗 Magazine website:
https://mswmanagementj.com/index.php/home/issue/view/22
Review:
MSW Management began gradually increasing the number of publications as early as 2024, and at that stage, most of the articles formally complied with the journal’s Aims & Scope. In other words, the initial signs did not yet appear to be critical.
However, in 2025, the magazine drastically changed its business model and shifted toward aggressive commercialization. The publication began publishing articles en masse on a wide range of topics—from cybersecurity and IT to art and education—even though the magazine’s official focus remains «management.».
In fact, the journal abandoned its thematic restrictions and began accepting «anything and everything,» which is a classic sign of predatory transformation. The total number of publications in 2025 exceeded 300 articles, a significant portion of which are of low scientific quality and do not align with the journal’s stated scope.
Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q4
Country: United States
Subject: Management
Main violations:
a large-scale publication of articles in 2025 (300+);
the systematic publication of material that does not fall within the Aims & Scope;
low quality of articles;
the virtual absence of a full peer-review process;
the transition from an academic model to a commercial one.
Risk assessment:
Probability of a journal being excluded from Scopus: 100%
Probability of deindexing articles published in 2025: 60–70%
⚠️ IMPORTANT WARNING: Fake journal websites in Scopus
We have singled out this case—removing it from the list of «candidates for elimination»—for one reason only: to warn the researchers.
🔗 Official page on Scopus:
https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/11600153426
The problem isn't with the journal itself, but with the fact that a fraudulent publication scheme was built around it.
On Google, the first result for the magazine's search query is the website:
🔗 https://acr-journal.com
Right here on this website:
More than 500 articles by scientists from around the world have been published;
The ISSN provided appears to be correct;
Indexing in Scopus has been announced;
A publication fee of 500 USD has been set;
Only the 2023–2025 issues are available, which in itself should raise some concerns.
🔴 Key issue:
This website has no connection to the actual journal that is indexed in Scopus.
Here's how we tested this in practice:
Let's go to Scopus.
Let's open the journal *Advances in Consumer Research*.
Let's move on to the indexed articles.
Click on the publisher's link on the Scopus page.
A completely different website opens—not acr-journal.com.
Furthermore, none of the articles published through the acr-journal.com website ARE NOT indexed in Scopus.
Another, extremely unpleasant issue:
The Scopus page listed an incorrect ISSN, which made the fraudsters' job much easier. This was an error on Scopus's part, but it is precisely such errors that create opportunities for abuse.
Conclusions
In this issue, we looked at several journals from different quartiles—from Q4 to Q1—and also highlighted a case involving a fake website «masquerading as» a journal that was actively misleading authors.
This analysis reaffirms a simple fact: neither quartile ranking nor inclusion in Scopus, on their own, guarantees a safe publication. Even highly ranked journals can, at some point, stray from the academic path and begin operating solely for the sake of quick profits.
Most often, authors who fall into this trap are those who need to get published quickly and who fail to analyze the journal’s track record, publication volume, and alignment with its Aims & Scope. In most cases, the result is the same: wasted money and time, and problems getting the articles accepted.
It's also important to remember: In 2026, risks arise not only from the journals themselves but also from fake websites that masquerade as indexed publications. In such cases, even if the journal has a page on Scopus, this does not protect the author from making a mistake.
That is precisely why, before submitting an article, it is important not to rush and to always thoroughly review the journal—or consult with experts who work with publications on a daily basis and understand the real risks involved. A hasty decision almost always ends up costing more than a thoughtful and well-researched approach.
If you're planning to submit an article to Scopus or Web of Science and aren't sure which journal to choose
The best solution is to check it BEFORE submitting it.
«The Article Academy» will review your publication for free: We analyze the journal's indexing history, publication trends, compliance with the Aims & Scope, and the risks of de-indexing.
This helps you avoid wasting time and money and prevents problems with the recognition of your publications in the future.
