Q: Can I ask the journal reason for desk rejection of my paper while a highly similar paper accepted?

Detailed Question -

Recently, one of my research papers was rejected without being sent for peer review; but I've just found a highly similar paper published by the same journal. Now, can I request for an explanation from the journal for this double standard policy?

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Thank you for this question. I'm sorry to learn about the outcome. May I request for more information, in order to understand the issue better? Were the language and formatting of both papers comparable? Also, may I request you to provide the timelines in terms of the submission of your paper versus the publication date of the accepted paper?