Ines Mergel, a professor of public administration at the University of Konstanz in Germany, found her name, complete institutional affiliations, and ORCID identifier attached to a paper in Ekliptika: Jurnal Inovasi Teknologi Berkelanjutan.
The study, titled “Kolinearitas dan Regularisasi pada Model Layanan Publik Digital: Simulasi dalam Konteks Green Government,” appeared in Volume 7, Number 1 of the journal, covering pages 17 through 30 of the July 2026 edition. Mergel stated that she never wrote a word of the manuscript.
Timeline of the Manuscript Submission and Retraction
Editorial records show the controversial manuscript entered the publication pipeline on May 5, 2026. The editorial board received revisions on June 1, 2026, and approved the text for publication on July 7, 2026.
Alongside Mergel, the article listed several other prominent academics who similarly confirmed they had no involvement in the work. These individuals included Rini Rachmawati, a professor at the Faculty of Geography at Gadjah Mada University (UGM); Yudho Giri Sucahyo, a professor of Computer Science at the University of Indonesia (UI); and Marijn Janssen, a professor of ICT and Governance at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Muhammad Khafid Ainul Yaqin, an instructor at Yudharta Pasuruan University, served as the corresponding author for the submission, listing his institutional email address as the contact point. When initially confronted by Mergel via email, Khafid claimed he did not remember writing the article before sending an apology the following day.
Editorial Response and Regulatory Investigations
The journal’s editorial board initially attempted to resolve the dispute by removing the co-authors’ names and leaving only the corresponding author listed on the paper.
Following widespread protests, managing editor Rudi Kurniawan issued a formal retraction notice on October 29, 2026, permanently removing the article. The journal acknowledged that individuals were listed without authorization and clarified that the removal of their names should not be interpreted as voluntary resignations.
Ahmad Najib Burhani, Director General of Science and Technology at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek), stated that the agency has encountered similar publishing infractions previously. Speaking in Jakarta on November 2, 2026, Burhani pointed to publishers artificially inflating accreditation metrics and overcharging authors for commercial gain as systemic issues.
The Ministry underscored enforcement mechanisms under Permendiktisaintek Regulation Number 9 of 2026, which permits corrective actions, article removals, and the revocation of journal accreditations. Ministry officials also noted that penalties for academic misconduct extend to the individuals involved, with past offenses resulting in revoked academic titles for students, lecturers, and professors alike.