Check 50 references free

    Catch fake, broken, mismatched, and incomplete citations before the document leaves your desk.

    Paste a reference list. Citation Risk checks whether each reference appears to exist and whether key metadata matches public bibliographic records.

    No card. No paper upload. No AI detector guessing.

    Citation audit preview
    Title matched
    Year conflict found
    Needs manual review

    A formatted citation can still be fake.

    Enter your email and check up to 50 citations.

    citation-risk-report
    VERIFIED
    REVIEW
    MISMATCH
    NOT FOUND
    INCOMPLETE

    Fabricated citations are no longer theoretical.

    A 2026 Lancet study of biomedical papers found the rate of papers containing fabricated references rose from roughly 1 in 2,828 in 2023 to 1 in 277 in early 2026.

    That is why citation checking needs to happen before submission.

    Read our summary of the Lancet findings
    Not a citation formatter.Not a source finder.A citation audit trail for metadata risk.

    Tested against real citation-risk cases

    Wrong yearsWrong authorsWrong venuesUnresolved DOIsFabricated referencesIncomplete citations

    A polished bibliography can still hide serious citation problems.

    AI-generated and AI-assisted writing has made reference lists harder to trust. A citation can look professional, follow the correct style, and still point to a fake, mismatched, incomplete, or unverifiable source.

    Professional credibility

    Bad references can damage trust in your work and your name.

    Submission & delivery risk

    If a citation problem reaches a client, examiner, reviewer, or platform, it becomes harder to explain.

    Metadata mismatch

    A DOI may resolve, but the year, title, author, or source details may still be wrong.

    Hidden reference issues

    Many citation problems are invisible during a quick manual scan.

    Academic & Thesis Editors

    Catch risky citations before your client does.

    Check messy reference lists, AI-assisted drafts, and suspicious bibliographies before delivery. Use clear verdicts to focus review time where it matters.

    Thesis Coaches & Consultants

    Help students fix citation risk before submission.

    Students often bring incomplete, AI-generated, or unreliable references. Citation Risk gives you a quick first-pass audit so you can guide corrections with confidence.

    Students & Researchers

    Check AI-generated references before submission.

    Paste suspicious citations or reference lists and catch fake, mismatched, incomplete, or unverifiable sources before they become your problem.

    How Citation Risk works

    No full paper upload required.

    01

    Paste your references

    Add citations, reference lists, or citation-containing text.

    02

    Run the risk check

    Citation Risk checks public bibliographic records and compares available metadata.

    03

    Review clear verdicts

    Each citation receives a clear verdict, with an audit trail showing what matched, conflicted, or needs review.

    04

    Fix before submission

    Use the results to correct weak, wrong, or unverifiable citations before the document leaves your desk.

    See what Citation Risk checks

    VERIFIED

    The source appears to exist and key metadata matches.

    MISMATCH

    A likely source was found, but supplied details do not match the public record.

    NOT FOUND

    No reliable matching source was found. This does not prove the source does not exist anywhere.

    REVIEW

    Possible match or ambiguity needs human checking.

    INCOMPLETE

    Not enough citation data was supplied for reliable verification.

    LOOKUP LIMITED

    A lookup source was unavailable or limited, so the result should be reviewed.

    Citation Risk checks whether references appear to exist and whether comparable metadata matches public bibliographic records, including title, author, year, venue, and DOI/source link where available.

    Trust boundary: Citation Risk checks citation existence and bibliographic metadata accuracy. It does not prove that a source supports a claim.

    Not a formatter. Not an AI detector. Not AI fog.

    Citation Risk does not try to guess who wrote the text. It does not format citations into APA or MLA. It checks whether references appear to exist and whether their metadata matches the public record.

    A formatted citation can still be fake.

    A related source is not a verified citation.

    A real source can still be a wrong citation.

    Access Citation Risk

    Access is currently open. Check up to 50 references for free.

    After entering your email, you'll be taken directly to the checker.

    Currently being tested with real bibliographies across academic, editorial, and AI-assisted writing workflows.

    • Paste references and check citation metadata
    • See what matched, what conflicted, and what needs review
    • Export results with matched source links

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does Citation Risk verify that a source supports a claim?

    No. Citation Risk checks citation existence and bibliographic metadata accuracy. It does not assess whether the source supports the surrounding argument.

    What does Verified mean?

    Verified means a matching bibliographic record was found and comparable metadata appears consistent.

    What does Review mean?

    Review means a possible source match was found, but some metadata needs manual confirmation before treating the citation as verified.

    What does Mismatch mean?

    Mismatch means a source record may exist, but one or more supplied citation details conflict with available metadata, such as year, author, venue, title, or DOI/source link.

    What does Not Found mean?

    Not Found means no reliable matching source record was found in the checked sources. It does not prove the source does not exist anywhere.

    What does Incomplete mean?

    Incomplete means the citation lacks enough information to verify reliably.

    What does Lookup Limited mean?

    Lookup Limited means the checker could not complete enough external lookup to give a confident verdict. This can happen due to temporary source availability. Try again later or verify the citation manually.

    Do users need to upload a full paper?

    No. Citation Risk works from pasted citations, reference lists, or citation-containing text.

    Is Citation Risk a citation formatter?

    No. Citation Risk is not a citation generator or formatter. It checks citation risk before users trust or polish the reference.