Q: If a paper is published in a predatory journal, what action should we take?
My acquaintance, whose manuscript was published in a predatory journal, is asking me for an advice for possible disposal. I can consider deleting it from the disclosed publication list, but would it be considered to be concealing the fact? If any inquiry would be made, we are going to reply the fact as it is, of course.
I am not sure what you mean by “I can consider deleting it from the disclosed publication list.” I assume you are referring to the list of publications on the author’s CV or professional website. I agree that the author should not include it in his/her publication list as it is best not to be associated with a predatory journal in any way. However, if someone asks the author, they should be honest about it and state that they were unaware that the journal was a predatory unknowingly published the paper in a predatory journal. I’m sure anybody in academia will understand, as this is a common problem and many early-career researchers are duped into publishing in predatory journals.
For the future, you may also refer to these sources for how to avoid or deal with predatory journals:
This content belongs to the Journal Selection Stage