We believe that post publication peer review, a focus of our journal through commenting and our unique SIQ process, is potentially a more powerful way to discern truth.

"[7] SIQ refers to Cureus's trademark Scholarly Impact Quotient, a number calculated after publication that takes peer opinions into account.

The general criteria for assessing a "predatory" or controversial journal included: poor website quality and misleading claims about indexing and impact metrics; lack of transparency regarding peer-review practice expectations; lack of statements affirming adherence to common ethical standards; charges for removal of an article from consideration or for unsolicited copy editing and promises of rapid (within days to weeks rather than months) or guaranteed publication.

Cureus was also criticized for having published a revision of an article that had been elsewhere retracted because of methodological reasons and scrutiny for “possible violations of medical ethics and human rights” (the results of a Covid-19 proxalutamide trial in Brazil).

[14] In November 2024 and after previously strongly defending them, Cureus closed 6 of its "academic channels", which are effectively controlled by an outside entity that appoints “hand-picked editors [who] manage all content from submission to publication” and which many had associated with paper mills.