Question 1

Why does ChatGPT give fake citations?

Accepted Answer

Large language models generate text from patterns in training data rather than looking up real documents, so they often produce plausible-looking but non-existent papers, journals, and DOIs. Studies have found error or fabrication rates above 50% for AI-generated citations.

Question 2

How do I verify that an AI-generated citation is real?

Accepted Answer

Check the DOI on doi.org, search the title in an academic database, and confirm authors and journal match. HallucinationBuster removes this manual work by only returning papers that already exist in verified academic databases, each with a working DOI link.

Question 3

How is HallucinationBuster different from asking ChatGPT for sources?

Accepted Answer

ChatGPT generates references from its memory, which can be fabricated. HallucinationBuster searches real academic databases first, lets you filter by publisher and publication year, then answers questions using only those verified papers — so every citation is real by construction.

Question 4

Is HallucinationBuster free?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the free tier includes 2 research queries per month with no credit card required. Paid plans add more queries and features.