Dr. Jens Foell
@jensfoell.de
I used to scan brains, now I talk about science for a living. Science editor, science podcaster, SPIEGEL-bestselling writer. Founder of @realscientists.de and trainer at @nawik.de. Looks even worse IRL. He/him.
NEW BOOK IN MAY 2026
🔗 https://jensfoell.de
NEW BOOK IN MAY 2026
🔗 https://jensfoell.de
Pinned
Dr. Jens Foell
@jensfoell.de
· Oct 20
Remember: If it requires the deliberate and coordinated suppression of information by the scientists of the world to be true, it most probably isn’t.
The current wave of extreme-right in Germany is using the term as well. Be suspicious of anyone throwing it around.
A reminder for those who are not aware: "remigration" is the process of deporting all non-white people from a country. It includes citizens and is, by definition, ethnic cleansing.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
November 28, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The current wave of extreme-right in Germany is using the term as well. Be suspicious of anyone throwing it around.
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
"Children of the future age
Reading this indignant page
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime"
- William Blake, "A Little Girl Lost"
Reading this indignant page
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime"
- William Blake, "A Little Girl Lost"
November 28, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"Children of the future age
Reading this indignant page
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime"
- William Blake, "A Little Girl Lost"
Reading this indignant page
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime"
- William Blake, "A Little Girl Lost"
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
This paper is only the tip of an iceberg. The journals will not blacklist their editors. In many cases, they don't retract papers, despite open fraud. The trust is quickly eroding. Just to try such a stunt, shows the low expectations people have in the editorial process.
November 28, 2025 at 1:24 PM
This paper is only the tip of an iceberg. The journals will not blacklist their editors. In many cases, they don't retract papers, despite open fraud. The trust is quickly eroding. Just to try such a stunt, shows the low expectations people have in the editorial process.
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
Asked about this after my conference talk on AI yesterday, I said the system was already broken (pay-to-publish, exploitation by publishers, write-only papers, reviewer shortage and quality reduction) and that AI has "merely" accelerated the need to address this ...
The AI slop paper in Nature Scientific Reports will apparently be retracted. That’s a good and necessary first step. Let’s talk about what else to do.
1/6
1/6
On the Factor Fexcectorn and autism bicycle AI slop study: I got an answer from Springer Nature this morning that this scientific paper will be retracted! 🧪
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
November 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Asked about this after my conference talk on AI yesterday, I said the system was already broken (pay-to-publish, exploitation by publishers, write-only papers, reviewer shortage and quality reduction) and that AI has "merely" accelerated the need to address this ...
The AI slop paper in Nature Scientific Reports will apparently be retracted. That’s a good and necessary first step. Let’s talk about what else to do.
1/6
1/6
On the Factor Fexcectorn and autism bicycle AI slop study: I got an answer from Springer Nature this morning that this scientific paper will be retracted! 🧪
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Riding the Autism Bicycle to Retraction Town
Does anyone *really* know their Factor Fexcectorn?
nobreakthroughs.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:36 PM
The AI slop paper in Nature Scientific Reports will apparently be retracted. That’s a good and necessary first step. Let’s talk about what else to do.
1/6
1/6
Good morning, generative AI is murdering science and cutting up its body as we speak
Beep? Boop. 🧪
They used an automated tool to detect AI papers after human readers got suspicious. Peer reviews were the worst, at 21% flagged as totally-AI generated. 1% of papers were flagged as fully AI, 9% more than 50%.
By @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social:
They used an automated tool to detect AI papers after human readers got suspicious. Peer reviews were the worst, at 21% flagged as totally-AI generated. 1% of papers were flagged as fully AI, 9% more than 50%.
By @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social:
Major AI conference flooded with peer reviews written fully by AI
Controversy has erupted after 21% of manuscript reviews for an international AI conference were found to be generated by artificial intelligence.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Good morning, generative AI is murdering science and cutting up its body as we speak
I bet that nobody will be able to guess the two Christmas wishes that my 5-year-old has — especially since one of the things is a non-sequitur running joke that he’s come up with.
What’s your best guess?
What’s your best guess?
November 28, 2025 at 6:49 AM
I bet that nobody will be able to guess the two Christmas wishes that my 5-year-old has — especially since one of the things is a non-sequitur running joke that he’s come up with.
What’s your best guess?
What’s your best guess?
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
"Postdoc in the job market"
November 16, 2025 at 7:52 PM
"Postdoc in the job market"
In theory, how would we go about shutting down a journal like Nature Scientific Reports? Yelling at the publisher, I presume?
November 27, 2025 at 10:45 PM
In theory, how would we go about shutting down a journal like Nature Scientific Reports? Yelling at the publisher, I presume?
Random reminder that I appreciate you all a lot.
I often post a lot of negativity here, but the truth is that staying in touch with y’all is something that makes me happy
I often post a lot of negativity here, but the truth is that staying in touch with y’all is something that makes me happy
November 27, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Random reminder that I appreciate you all a lot.
I often post a lot of negativity here, but the truth is that staying in touch with y’all is something that makes me happy
I often post a lot of negativity here, but the truth is that staying in touch with y’all is something that makes me happy
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
Even the the damn twitter card for this Nature Scientific Reports is clearly AI Slop.
November 27, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Even the the damn twitter card for this Nature Scientific Reports is clearly AI Slop.
AI use is killing open science. Good to see @socarxiv.bsky.social are doing their best to try and contain damage.
In light of record submission rates and a large volume of AI-generated slop, SocArXiv recently implemented a policy requiring ORCIDs linked in the OSF profile of submitting authors, and narrowing our focus to social science subjects. Today we are taking two more steps:
/1
/1
November 27, 2025 at 3:41 PM
AI use is killing open science. Good to see @socarxiv.bsky.social are doing their best to try and contain damage.
Fun fact: In 1940s Germany you could purchase postcards with a pre-printed text that translates to "The Führer knows only struggle, work, and worry"
Speaker 'barely holding it together' and 'crushed by his workload': NYT
Speaker 'barely holding it together' and 'crushed by his workload': NYT
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made several revealing admissions about the stressful and chaotic nature of his job, according to a recent New York Times report.The Times' Annie Karni wrote in a Wednesday article that Johnson turned what was meant to be an easy interview with a friendly podcast h...
bit.ly
November 27, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Fun fact: In 1940s Germany you could purchase postcards with a pre-printed text that translates to "The Führer knows only struggle, work, and worry"
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
November 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
This is a fascinating & kind of terrifying piece, the way it rules out various reasons for collapse you might guess (famine, climate) to leave the impression these people just decided to slaughter each other
Pointed out by my friend @carloshasanax.bsky.social . There's something weird and unsettling about a fairly homogeneous culture spread out across Europe that then collapses into an orgy of genocide.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished
Wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture
www.science.org
November 27, 2025 at 12:39 PM
This is a fascinating & kind of terrifying piece, the way it rules out various reasons for collapse you might guess (famine, climate) to leave the impression these people just decided to slaughter each other
“U.S. residents will still pay $80 for an annual pass, but non-residents are looking at a much steeper $250 price tag.”
“Instead of the usual landscapes or cultural sites, some passes will feature President Trump instead.”
Good lord
thenationalparksexperience.substack.com/p/national-p...
“Instead of the usual landscapes or cultural sites, some passes will feature President Trump instead.”
Good lord
thenationalparksexperience.substack.com/p/national-p...
National Park Access and Fees Get Major Overhaul in 2026
Interior Department makes annual passes fully digital, increases fees for non-residents, and announces "patriotic fee-free days"
thenationalparksexperience.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:13 PM
“U.S. residents will still pay $80 for an annual pass, but non-residents are looking at a much steeper $250 price tag.”
“Instead of the usual landscapes or cultural sites, some passes will feature President Trump instead.”
Good lord
thenationalparksexperience.substack.com/p/national-p...
“Instead of the usual landscapes or cultural sites, some passes will feature President Trump instead.”
Good lord
thenationalparksexperience.substack.com/p/national-p...
You heard what she said.
November 26, 2025 at 9:39 PM
You heard what she said.
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
This is great! Didn't know until now that I have to re-watch this movie.
I've stumbled upon this very interesting reading of The Truman Show. If you're a fan of the film, it might be worth your 8 minutes to watch this. I think I'm buying the argument presented here and will probably view the film with new eyes upon my next re-watch.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mCX...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mCX...
When Does Truman Figure It Out?
YouTube video by Christopher Bingham
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
This is great! Didn't know until now that I have to re-watch this movie.
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
I guess I now have to do a thread on shoes in ancient Mesopotamia in response to this (which happens to be from one of my favourite accounts).
I’m not an archaeologist, nor do I really know anything about shoes, but let’s go on this journey together.
I’m not an archaeologist, nor do I really know anything about shoes, but let’s go on this journey together.
can't believe this ancient mesopotamia shoe wearing ass said people need to dress up at the airport
November 26, 2025 at 9:03 AM
I guess I now have to do a thread on shoes in ancient Mesopotamia in response to this (which happens to be from one of my favourite accounts).
I’m not an archaeologist, nor do I really know anything about shoes, but let’s go on this journey together.
I’m not an archaeologist, nor do I really know anything about shoes, but let’s go on this journey together.
@franbottanelli.bsky.social Hi Fran! Hättest du Lust, bei Gelegenheit mal eine Woche lang für @realscientists.de zu posten? Wir würden uns freuen!
November 26, 2025 at 9:01 AM
@franbottanelli.bsky.social Hi Fran! Hättest du Lust, bei Gelegenheit mal eine Woche lang für @realscientists.de zu posten? Wir würden uns freuen!
@bettinagrande.bsky.social Hi Bettina! Hättest du Lust, bei Gelegenheit mal eine Woche lang für @realscientists.de zu posten? Wir würden uns freuen!
November 26, 2025 at 8:59 AM
@bettinagrande.bsky.social Hi Bettina! Hättest du Lust, bei Gelegenheit mal eine Woche lang für @realscientists.de zu posten? Wir würden uns freuen!
@buechnerronja.bsky.social Hi Ronja! Hättest du Lust, bei Gelegenheit mal eine Woche lang für @realscientists.de zu posten? Wir würde uns freuen!
November 26, 2025 at 8:57 AM
@buechnerronja.bsky.social Hi Ronja! Hättest du Lust, bei Gelegenheit mal eine Woche lang für @realscientists.de zu posten? Wir würde uns freuen!
This is obviously a brave and important interview, but also: did anyone else catch the “Armageddon” reference?
November 26, 2025 at 6:56 AM
This is obviously a brave and important interview, but also: did anyone else catch the “Armageddon” reference?
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
There is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for this to be happening.
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
A third infant has died in Kentucky, KYDPH adds:
“These are Kentucky’s first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy.”
s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-netw...
“These are Kentucky’s first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy.”
s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-netw...
November 25, 2025 at 10:01 PM
There is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for this to be happening.
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."
HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡