That’s one expensive joke! I would like to believe that the mass protests it will trigger will be worth every cent but most #academics are seemingly affected by a highly persistent case of Stockholm syndrome so I fear it may be wasted…
#AcademicChatter #PeerReview #AcademicPublishing #academia

@ElenLeFoll
Do they charge the "article" fee for a "letter to the editor" though?

@kdnyhan Good point. I don't know.

@ElenLeFoll
I mean, they should still be exercising a bare minimum of editorial discretion for correspondence too....

@kdnyhan Or they were in on it. I don't know but, which ever way, I can't say it leaves a good impression of the journal...

@ElenLeFoll @kdnyhan
Without a clear sign that this was a joke, the joke is on them

@paezha @ElenLeFoll
The joke is on all the other authors who paid to publish a "peer-reviewed" case report in the journal, and on all the residents who didn't pay to get a line on their CV from International Journal of Surgery Case Reports and got worse matches/jobs because they had fewer publications, and on all the patients that these surgeons are treating, who trust in their knowledge and critical appraisal skills.

@paezha @ElenLeFoll
Oh, don't forget the funders associated with these articles (and APCs - because even if the joking/stinging authors *potentially* used a correspondence APC, the rest of them have presumably paid)
openalex.org/works?page=1&filt…

And it's not just "oh look, it's a fake case report showing that the journal's processes are flawed, haha." The fake case reports feature a fictional surgeon making and concealing a medical error after a "violent conjugal argument." Another fictional surgeon recommends a course of treatment based on the opportunity to perform a prestigious operation.

Another one (and I hope this tidbit is fictional but I wouldn't be surprised either way) repeats: “Is it really urgent? Is it a matter of neurosurgery? or as usual the guy has boo-boos and he comes to piss us off!”

If I were doing a sting or a prank, I'd aim for funny.

@kdnyhan This is not actually a joke - it aims to highlight many existing but hidden problems with surgeons - malpractice, burnout, etc. which they are probably not allowed to talk about publicly. The cases they describe might be real, but they can't say that, hence the localisation on "Saturn" to make sure they can't be accused of defamation. I think.