How it works
- Split the list. The tool separates the references, ignoring numbers, bullets, page markers and headings that come along when you copy from a document.
- Find identifiers. A DOI, ISBN, PubMed ID or arXiv number gives an exact lookup.
- Search the databases. Without an identifier, it searches Crossref, OpenAlex, DataCite, Open Library and Google Books by title and author.
- Compare. The title, authors, year and journal in your reference are compared with the record that was found.
- Report. You see a verdict, the matched record and a corrected citation.
A reference that is hard to read is passed to an AI model so it can pick out the author and title. The model only produces search terms. It never decides a verdict and never fills in missing details.
What the verdicts mean
- Verified. A record matches your reference on the key details. You see the record and a link to it.
- Mismatch. The work exists, but something differs, such as the year or an author. The difference is shown.
- Possible match, please confirm. A record might be your source, but the details don’t agree well enough to call it a match. You see the closest record and decide. No corrected citation is offered.
- Couldn’t verify. Nothing matched. A reason is given, such as a book, a thesis, a non-English title or a database that was unavailable.
Any verdict can also carry a Retracted flag when the matched paper has been retracted, withdrawn or removed.
What to do with the results
Open the matched record for each Mismatch and compare it with the source you have in front of you. Fix the reference if the record is right. For a Couldn’t verify, find the source another way: your library’s catalog for books and theses, the publisher’s site for reports, or the original database for a paper you can’t find. If the source cannot be found anywhere, don’t cite it.
Results come from public databases and can be wrong. Treat the tool as a screening step before you submit, not as a final check.
Questions people ask
What exactly does it check?
Whether each reference matches a published record: the title, the authors, the year and the journal. It does not check your argument, your quotations or your formatting beyond the main parts of a citation. It also does not detect whether text was written by an AI.
Can it tell me a source is made up?
No, and it never uses that word. If a reference matches nothing, the verdict is “Couldn't verify,” with the most likely reason. Plenty of real sources aren't in scholarly databases, so you decide what to do next. The fake citation checker page explains how.
Which style should I pick?
The one you want the corrected citations in. Your own references can be in any style, or a mix, and numbering and bullets are ignored. Switching the style afterwards re-formats the corrected citations without checking again.
My list is longer than 25 references.
Check it in batches. The limit keeps the tool free and quick for everyone. A batch of 25 usually takes well under a minute.
Is what I paste stored?
No. We look up each reference and keep nothing about it except the matched database record, our verdict and our confidence in the result. If you use “Report a wrong result,” the reference you report is saved so we can investigate. Read the privacy policy.