Hallucinated References
Plausible authors, confident formatting, zero matching records anywhere. The signature failure of AI-assisted writing.
0 of 12 databases matched
Citation verification for academia
Catch the citation that doesn't exist
Paste your reference list. EssayTone checks every entry against 200M+ scholarly records, then stamps each one: verified, flagged, or not found. Before a reviewer does it for you.
- 30 free checks a day.
- No card
- No payment
The catalog
Cross-checked against every drawer that matters
One query fans out to the world's major scholarly indexes and comes back with a verdict per reference.
160M+ records
250M+ works
37M+ records
2.4M+ preprints
220M+ papers
resolution check
60k+ retractions
publisher indexes
From messy bibliography to stamped record
No formatting rules to follow. Paste APA, MLA, BibTeX, a raw Word export, or the tail end of a ChatGPT answer. EssayTone figures it out.
01
Paste Anything
Drop in your reference list in any style, or upload the whole PDF. Up to 500 entries in one batch.
02
Split Into Cards
Each reference becomes its own record: author, year, title, venue, DOI, all parsed and normalized.
03
Query The Catalog
Every card is searched across the full index set, with fuzzy matching for typos and translated titles.
04
Get The Verdict
A stamped report per reference, with the exact reason behind every flag. Export as PDF or CSV.
VERIFIEDFLAGGEDNOT FOUND
Meanwhile, in the stacks
What happens in the nine seconds
Between paste and verdict, every reference triggers its own search across the whole catalog. Here is one fabricated citation being hunted down, in real time.
12indexes queried per reference
40+field comparisons per match
0.6smedian time to a verdict
Anatomy of a flag
Every verdict comes with the red pen
No black-box scores. When a reference gets flagged, the report marks exactly which field failed and against which record, so you can fix it in one edit.
1
Authors Matched
Both names confirmed against the author record, including ORCID where available. 2 of 2 verified
2
Year Mismatch
The paper exists, but it was published in 2022. A one-digit slip that most reviewers will still circle. 2021 → 2022
3
Venue Doesn't Exist
No journal by this name in any index. The real paper appeared in a conference proceeding, a classic AI-paraphrase artifact.
4
DOI Doesn't Resolve
The prefix belongs to a different publisher and the suffix returns nothing. EssayTone suggests the correct DOI from the matched record. fix suggested
The flag taxonomy
Six ways a reference goes wrong
Fabrication is only the loudest failure. Most bibliographies fail quietly, in ways a spellchecker never sees.
Misattributed Authors
Right paper, wrong people: missing co-authors, mixed-up initials, or an author borrowed from a similarly titled work.
H. Kim → H.-J. Kim, +2 authors missing
Retracted Papers
The paper is real but has been withdrawn. Citing it uncritically is a red flag for any editor. Checked against Retraction Watch daily.
retracted 2024-11 · misconduct
Broken DOIs And URLs
Identifiers that never resolved or stopped resolving. EssayTone tests every one live and proposes the correct identifier when a match exists.
HTTP 404 · fix suggested
Wrong Year Or Volume
Off-by-one years, swapped volume and issue numbers, preprint dates cited as publication dates. Small, common, and correctable.
2019 → 2020, vol. 7 → 8
Questionable Venues
Journals with predatory patterns: no indexing, no review record, hijacked titles. Cited knowingly is one thing; unknowingly is another.
not indexed · 0 review record
Watch a manuscript go from submitted to stamped
Follow your reference list through extraction, correction, monitoring, and export — from pasted bibliography to attached record.
Full-Manuscript Scan
Upload the whole PDF. EssayTone sweeps the document, finds the bibliography wherever it lives, and lifts every reference out, including footnotes and in-text citations.
- Reads PDF, DOCX and LaTeX sources
- Finds numbered, author-date and footnote styles
- Pairs in-text citations with their entries
- Spots entries cited in text but missing from the list
Fixes, Not Just Flags
When a field disagrees with the matched record, the report shows the correction inline, in your citation style. Accept it with one click or copy the corrected entry.
- Wrong values struck through, corrections beside them
- Suggestions rendered in your citation style
- Accept all fixes and export the clean list
- Patched .bib file for LaTeX users
Retraction Watch On Your Library
A citation that was fine in March can be retracted in September. Save a reference list and EssayTone re-checks it daily, telling you the moment a paper’s status changes.
- Daily re-check against the retraction record
- Email and Slack alerts on status changes
- Covers corrections and expressions of concern
- One-click view of which of your drafts cite it
A Report You Can Attach
The final report carries the seal: every reference listed with its verdict, evidence and check date. Attach it to a submission, hand it to your advisor, or keep it for the record.
- Per-reference verdicts with match evidence
- Shareable link with a permanent record ID
- PDF and CSV export
- Re-runs free for 30 days as you revise
Why it matters now
One fake reference can undo a real paper
AI writing assistants invent plausible-looking citations. Reviewers, editors and advisors are checking for them. Whichever side of the desk you sit on, run the check first.
If you're writing
A bibliography with even one unverifiable entry invites a desk rejection or, worse, a misconduct inquiry. “Check ref. 14, this doesn't resolve” is a comment you never want to receive. Stamp everything before submission and it never arrives.
If you're reviewing
Approving a paper whose references were never checked puts your name next to the mistake. Screen every submission's reference list in seconds and spend your review time on the science instead.
If you're teaching
Students lean on AI tools that fabricate sources with confident formatting. Run submissions through EssayTone and turn each flag into a teaching moment, before the habit hardens into misconduct.
If you're editing
Citation fraud is the hardest thing to catch by eye at scale. Filter fabricated references at initial screening and keep the review pipeline for work that deserves it.
From the checkout desk
Scholars who stamp before they submit
See how EssayTone has helped thousands of students achieve academic success.
RECORD 0117PHD · CS
A thesis runs to hundreds of references and checking them by hand is unrealistic. EssayTone verified my whole bibliography in one batch and caught several citations that did not exist at all. It saved me from being caught by my own reviewers.
RECORD 0342PROFESSOR · EE
I run every student submission through it. Within minutes it surfaces citations that don't hold up or are outright fabricated. In an age where AI writing is everywhere, this kind of verification is how I uphold rigor without burning evenings on it.
RECORD 0951EDITOR · MED
As a journal editor, citation fraud is the hardest thing to catch by hand across a huge submission volume. EssayTone lets me filter out manuscripts with bogus references at first screening. It's now standard equipment in our editorial office.
50K+
Scholars
10M+
References checked
99.7%
First-pass accuracy
4.9/5
User rating
Your Questions, Answered
See how AcademicWrite has helped thousands of students achieve academic success.
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Beat them to it.
Paste your reference list and get a stamped verdict on every entry in under ten seconds. 30 checks a day, free forever.
Check my references
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