At the 2026 COPE China Seminar, a pioneering initiative translating publication ethics principles into public infrastructure sparked extensive discussion. 24hreview, positioned as a pre-submission integrity safeguard layer for publishers, presented the outcomes of its initial pilot, aiming to provide a standardized, shared pre-submission integrity layer for the global academic publishing community.
The seminar, jointly organized by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Society of China University Journals (CUJS), convened in Beijing. It featured in-depth deliberations on core issues including academic publishing ecosystem governance in the context of AI, collaborative prevention and control of research misconduct, and publication ethics standards.
During the session titled "Ecosystem Panel: Research Integrity Practices in China," a practical case study entitled "24hreview: A Pre-Submission Integrity Safeguard Layer for Publishers" drew significant attention, showcasing the platform's positioning and outcomes as a public infrastructure asset. COPE Chair Nancy Chescheir reaffirmed COPE's core mission to uphold the integrity of the scholarly record and expressed appreciation for innovative explorations in research integrity.
The 24hreview initiative represents a tangible response to COPE's vision. The platform was born out of a CUJS survey of 1,036 Chinese researchers, which revealed that only 19.64% of authors were familiar with COPE policies, while 86.7% supported pre-submission checks, and 31.6% expected professional pre-submission screening channels provided by publishers. The survey identified three structural gaps: late-stage screening (18.6%), limited capacity of individual journals (18.3%), and a lack of shared mechanisms and self-check tools (16.1%). The case report noted, "This is not a failure of individual editors or publishers, but a systemic structural gap that requires coordinated industry-wide solutions."
24hreview is positioned as a dedicated integrity safeguard layer for publishers, working at the pre-submission stage. Its three core features include standardized screening dimensions, integration with existing submission systems, and completion of front-end checks within 24 hours while supporting publishing efficiency. Launched in 2024 under the auspices of CUJS, the platform first piloted the approach together with Wiley. The number of participating journals has grown from an initial 8 to about 80. The pilot showed that the model is straightforward, integrates smoothly, and reliably verifies manuscript integrity.
Multiple presentations throughout the seminar converged on a common direction: addressing increasingly complex research integrity challenges requires building a coordinated industry governance system. The original source URL can be found at https://www.cujs.org.cn/site/content/8650.html.
