Ethicality is MDPI’s in-house research integrity system, built by its Technology Innovation team with the editorial and research integrity teams. The manuscript is parsed into parts such as title, abstract, authors and body, and several AI tools check those parts for signs of paper mills, AI-generated content, duplicate submissions, citation manipulation and author manipulation, with flagged items investigated by trained in-house staff. It checks at submission and at each processing step, and it also analyses peer review reports. MDPI’s image checks use Proofig and its text duplication checks use iThenticate. In September 2024 MDPI described Ethicality as in testing, intended to help identify AI-generated publications, self-citation and unrelated references. On 17 June 2026 MDPI announced that it had fully deployed Ethicality to screen all manuscripts submitted to it.
Benefits & outcomes
- MDPI reports that Ethicality screens about 2,000 submissions a day.
Notes & quotes
- MDPI says experienced editors or research integrity professionals review every flagged case before any action is taken.
- “AI, when used responsibly, acts as a set of guardrails rather than a substitute for human judgment.” Dr Milos Cuculovic, Head of Technology Innovation, MDPI.
Publisher / company: MDPIProofig AITurnitin
Date of case study: 2026
Status: Live
Built by: Publisher or platform
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