Retraction Watch Feed Screensaver
The Retraction Watch Feed screensaver scrolls scientific papers as they're retracted, drawn from Retraction Watch's real, widely cited database of research integrity issues, refreshed by a background pipeline. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the Retraction Watch Feed screensaver works
A background pipeline reads Retraction Watch's real database of newly logged retractions.
Each entry scrolls through with the real paper title and its retraction reason where given.
A running count tracks retractions seen since the pipeline last refreshed.
Data refreshes on the pipeline's schedule, not live tick by tick.
A worked example
You might see a real retraction for data fabrication or duplicate publication scroll past — genuine entries from Retraction Watch's own database, not a dramatization.
Settings & tips
- Accent recolours the paper titles.
- Run
automation/run.py retractionwatchon your pipeline machine to refresh the data. - A retraction doesn't always mean misconduct — some are honest error corrections.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a real database?
- Yes — Retraction Watch is a real, widely cited project maintained by science journalists since 2010.
- Why does it need a pipeline?
- Retraction Watch's database isn't reliably fetchable directly from a browser, so a small background script gathers it and saves a snapshot the saver loads.
- Does every retraction mean fraud?
- No — reasons range from honest errors to plagiarism to data fabrication; the feed shows the real reason where logged.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.