Brazilian academics on predatory-journal editorial boards
Working notes for the “Para quem publicamos?” study. Goal: identify Brazilian (esp. Linguistics/Letras) academics listed on editorial boards of journals flagged as predatory. Accessed 2026-05-28.
Framing and caveats (read before citing)
- “Listed on” ≠ “serves on.” Predatory journals routinely list academics without consent. Use “listed as an editorial board member,” never “serves on.”
- Two separate claims, separate confidence: (a) the journal is predatory — assertable from Beall’s List + behavioral markers; (b) a named person consented — genuinely uncertain. Keep the journal claim blunt and the individual claim factual.
- Source status: Beall’s List is archived/frozen since 2017 and uses “potential predatory.” It is a documented flag, not an adjudicated ruling. Treat as a lower bound.
- Extractability depends on tech stack: static HTML board pages (ESJ
editorial_*, SciencePG, Academy Publication.htm) parse cleanly; OJSabout/editorialTeampages (AIAC/IJALEL, likely Macrothink, CSCanada) render the board client-side and are not extractable without a JS-capable browser.
Confirmed finding (primary source)
Cléber Alves de Ataíde — Associate Professor of Linguistics, UFPE; sitting president of ABRALIN; former president of GELNE. - Listed as: Editorial Board Member - Journal: International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Science Publishing Group, journal 501) - Affiliation as listed (verbatim): “Department of Language and Literature, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil” — matches his real affiliation - Publisher status: Science Publishing Group is on Beall’s List of (potential) predatory publishers (sciencepublishinggroup.com) - Source: https://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/501/editorial-team
Other Brazil-affiliated members of the same journal (IJLL / SciencePG)
| Name (as listed) | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Prof. Shirlene Bemfica de Oliveira | IFMG, Campus Ouro Preto |
| Assoc. Prof. Cleber Ataíde | UFPE, Recife |
| Dr. Diego Barbosa da Silva | Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro |
| Nanci Aparecida de Almeida | Universidade de Taubaté |
| Prof. Fabiano Saito | UEMG, Carangola |
| Prof. Silvia Cristina Barros de Souza Hall | UFOPA, Santarém |
| Dr. Marta Andrade | listed “Universidad de El Salvador, Salvador, Brazil” — garbled (that university is in El Salvador); data-quality noise |
European Scientific Journal (Science Publishing Institute, ESI) — Beall-listed
5 Brazil-affiliated members across three section boards (494 members total):
| Section | Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | Jorge Tenorio Fernando | FATEC (Paula Souza State Center for Technological Education) |
| Humanities | Simone T. Hashiguti | Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) |
| Humanities | Bruno Augusto Sampaio Fuga | North Paraná University (UNOPAR) |
| Natural/Life/Medical | Maria Clideana Cabral Maia | EMBRAPA |
| Natural/Life/Medical | Carlos Alberto Batista dos Santos | Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB) |
Source: https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/editorial_humanities (+ editorial_board, editorial_natural_medical)
Checked, no Brazilian members
- Theory and Practice in Language Studies (Academy Publication) — full board (~55) extracted, 0 Brazil-affiliated. Source: https://www.academypublication.com/tpls/editorialboard.htm
Not extractable (OJS / JS-rendered)
- International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature (AIAC) — board loads client-side; needs JS-capable fetch.
Copyright © Guilherme Duarte Garcia