Fake News has got a sidekick and it's called Fake Science. This talk presents the findings and methodology from a team of investigative journalists, hackers and data scientists who delved into the parallel universe of fraudulent pseudo-academic conferences and journals; Fake science factories, twilight companies whose sole purpose is to give studies an air of scientific credibility while cashing in on millions of dollars in the process. Until recently, these fake science factories have remained relatively under the radar, with few outside of academia aware of their presence; but the highly profitable industry is growing significantly and with it, so are the implications. To the public, fake science is indistinguishable from legitimate science, which is facing similar accusations itself. Our findings highlight the prevalence of the pseudo-academic conferences, journals and publications and the damage they can and are doing to society.
Svea is a freelance journalist for Germany’s main public service broadcaster “Das Erste” (ARD). She is researching and reporting investigative issues with main focus on new technology, computer and network security, digital economics and data protection. Svea’s academic alter ego is Dr Cindy Poppins, a well-known computer scientist from the University of Applied Sciences of Lower Saxony at Wiepenkathen, Germany. Dr Poppin’s main focus lies on novel solutions for the analysis of agents. She recently discovered COP, an algorithm which improves compact technology and suffix trees, winning her the best presentation award at an international conference. @sveckert
Suggy is the lead researcher and co-founder of the not-for-profit Online Privacy Foundation, who contribute to the field of psychological research in online contexts. He has authored papers and spoken on this topic at DEF CON, other noteworthy conferences and a fake conference. For the past five years, Suggy has served as a member of the DEF CON CFP review board. Suggy’s academic alter ego is Dr Dade Murphy, a reformed hacker whose eagerly anticipated work on polymorphic machine learning defences for Gibson mainframe computers was recently accepted at an international cyber security conference. @5uggy
Till is an editor and investigative reporter at Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine, the supplement of Germany’s major broadsheet newspaper. Ever since he studied Electronic Communication Arts as a Fulbright Scholar in the Bay Area in 2005, he is interested in all things tech, writing about surveillance, data protection and cybercrime. Till’s academic alter ego is Professor Dr. Edgar Munchhausen, a Struwwelpeter Fellow for Applied Sciences at various universities in Europe and Asia and a renowned researcher who has published his research in countless peer-reviewed journals. He holds a PhD from the University of Wiepenkathen and is a laureate of the Horst Schimanski Award and CEO of IOIR, the Institute of International Research.