This week's PR Roundup features the growing reputational issue of fake AI-generated academic journals impersonating real professors, new data showing Twitch outpacing TikTok and Instagram in producing top-ranked creators and the viral Swatch x Audemars Piguet collaboration that sent shoppers into a frenzy worldwide.
Fake Journals, Real Professors: How AI Is Undermining Academic Trust
What happened: A recent NBC News exclusive revealed that a network of fake academic journals was found to be publishing AI-generated research papers attributed to real professors at top U.S. universities—without their knowledge or consent. The operation, traced to a publisher called International Science Innovation Press, churned out more than 100 papers across multiple journals, with its flagship publication, the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (IJAIR), alone posting 80 articles across two issues.
The professors targeted, including faculty from New York University, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and other prestigious institutions, only discovered the fraud when colleagues flagged the papers on Google Scholar. The articles used the real names but listed incorrect affiliations and email addresses, a tactic that may have been a deliberate misdirection. The journals even obtained legitimate ISSN numbers, giving them a veneer of credibility that allowed the content to surface on academic platforms.
What makes this more than just a quirky AI story is what it signals for the integrity of higher education. As AI tools make it easier to produce passable academic writing, the guardrails that have long kept scientific publishing trustworthy—peer review, institutional accountability and author verification—are being stress-tested in real time. Academics quoted in the news story called for a verified database of legitimate journals and authors, as well as regulatory intervention, though few are optimistic that oversight can keep pace with the problem.
Communication takeaways: Communicators who deal with academic or scientific publishing should note that the credibility infrastructure that underpins expert sourcing, thought leadership and research-backed storytelling is under threat. When fake journals can impersonate real ones and AI can convincingly mimic established scholars, the due diligence required before citing or amplifying academic work is more demanding.
Gregg Feistman, Professor of Practice, Public Relations at Temple University, says the issue not only contributes to misinformation, but also raises larger issues around copyright and intellectual property protection, as well as the credibility of the authors, which extends to the trust in their institutions.
“All of [this] continues to erode the public’s trust in science and facts, and makes it harder for the public to determine what’s true and what isn’t,” Feistman says.
Although this trend may never go away, Feistman notes that there are ways to try to mitigate the damage to reputation and credibility. While it may not be a part of an academic's usual routine, they now have to be more aware of the issue. His suggested steps for academics, scientists and institutions include:
- Set up weekly Google and other electronic forum alerts to notify you when either you or your topic/paper subject are cited.
- Engage your university librarian to be on the lookout and publicize it university-wide if they find a false entry or journal.
- Discuss this with colleagues from other universities to see if they're aware of it and what their institutions are doing about it.
- If it happens to you, tell everyone! Call it out on LinkedIn and academic forums.
- Speak about it at academic conferences
- Contact the purported outlet and tell them to delete it from their site.
- If they won't or don't, contact your legal department to see about pursuing legal action.
Livestreaming Is Replacing Polished Influencer Culture
What happened: Forget the algorithm-chasing, hyper-edited highlight reel. New data suggests the most influential creators in America aren't coming from TikTok or Instagram—they're streaming live on Twitch.
Researchers ranked the top 500 global creators across Twitch, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and then mapped their birthplaces to identify which platforms are housing the most elite American online personalities. Key findings include:
- Twitch produced 168 top-ranked U.S.-born creators globally—more than TikTok (143), Instagram (142) and YouTube (105)
- Twitch accounts for over 30% of all U.S.-born creators identified across the global rankings
- Twitch-native creators have expanded well beyond gaming into mainstream pop culture, driven by personalities like Kai Cenat, Ninja, Pokimane and Jynxzi, each commanding audiences north of 10 million
- Long-form, personality-driven content appears to be building stronger audience loyalty than algorithm-optimized short-form alternatives
As creator burnout, algorithm fatigue and short-form content saturation take their toll, Twitch's format—which rewards authenticity and sustained engagement over virality— may have a structural advantage in retaining both creators and audiences.
Communication takeaways: For brands and communicators still defaulting to TikTok and Instagram when thinking about influencer strategy, this data encourages a reassessment. The platform many media plans still treat as niche may deserve a much bigger seat at the table.
Sophie Watson, Head of Digital PR at The Media Image, says the study shows that the shift is more about audience behavior as livestream creators are increasingly building deeper, longer-term loyalty compared to the faster churn often associated with short-form platforms like Tiktok.
“That changes how brands should think about creator partnerships,” Watson says. “The most effective collaborations may no longer be with creators who have the biggest viral spikes, but with those who have the strongest communities and the ability to hold audience attention for extended periods of time.
Watson also acknowledges that for communicators, this is a reminder that audience trust is becoming a more important metric than raw exposure.
“Livestream creators often build parasocial relationships that can feel closer to fandoms than followings, which can translate into stronger brand recall and engagement when partnerships are executed authentically,” she says.
Scarcity, Status and Social Frenzy: Inside the Swatch x AP Drop
What happened: When Swatch and Audemars Piguet announced their Royal Pop collection collaboration on May 12, the internet did not play it cool. The pairing of one of the world's most accessible watch brands with one of the industry’s most exclusive luxury houses sparked a cultural moment that spilled off screens and into the streets—with store lines, crowd control issues and closures reported worldwide.
According to listening data from Sprout Social, Swatch saw a 2,500% increase in brand mentions in the days following the announcement. Key metrics from May 1–18 include:
- 182,000-plus total brand mentions across X, YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr and Bluesky
- 2 million-plus likes, comments and shares, with a potential reach of 18.26 billion impressions
- Swatch's TikTok announcement became the brand's most engaged post in the last 90 days—generating 2.3 million views, a 65% engagement rate and $164,000 in estimated media value
- 7,700-plus posts referenced queues, crowds and lines at Swatch retail locations
- Nearly 4,000 mentions debated whether the watch was limited edition—a classic scarcity-signal feedback loop that brands spend fortunes trying to manufacture organically
Communication takeaways: For communicators, the Royal Pop drop is a masterclass in contrast marketing. The collaboration worked precisely because of the tension between the two brands' worlds—and that tension gave audiences something to talk about, debate and line up for.
Priscila Martinez, Founder of The Brand Agency, says the Swatch case study will go down in history as one of the most talked-about retail collaborations.
“The unlikely pair created the perfect marketing storm,” Martinez says. “The best collaborations are the most unexpected ones. It's not often that an uber luxury brand is willing to create a product with a lower-priced peer. AP took a chance and won, gaining billions of impressions in the process.”
Brittany Hennessy, VP of Social Intelligence at Sprout Social, agrees and says the collaboration shows how much brands are paying attention to internet culture and consumer behavior in real time.
“Consumers increasingly want products that signal participation in a cultural moment, where ownership itself becomes part of the conversation around status, collectability and community,” Hennessey says.
A way for brand communicators to spot that? By using social intelligence tools.
“It surfaces the conversations, behaviors and emotional patterns shaping demand before they appear in trend reports or sales data,” Hennessey says. “The brands winning attention right now are the ones building for cultural relevance, not just consumption."
Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor at PRNEWS.