Fake Webometric University Rankings as an Object of Erroneous Citation in Global Science

The proliferation of fraudulent university rankings presents a growing challenge to academic integrity and scholarly communication worldwide. This study examines the cross-border and systemic penetration of fake Webometrics domains (webometrics.org, webometricsranking.com, and webometrics.online), which emerged in 2025, into official scientific discourse. Utilizing advanced search tools in Google Scholar as of September 2026, the research identifies numerous instances of erroneous data and methodology citations across national peer-reviewed journal articles, doctoral dissertations, and master's theses. Evidence reveals that researchers from multiple countries—including Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine—have mistakenly utilized these fraudulent platforms as official sources. The findings demonstrate how blind trust in unverified scientometric metrics leads to severe distortions in institutional performance assessments and creates administrative and reputational risks for higher education entities. The paper emphasizes the urgent need to enhance the scientometric literacy of researchers, peer reviewers, and dissertation councils, and stresses that critical source verification of global rankings must become a mandatory element of academic quality control.