PLOS Issues Peer-Review Concern for Rural Digital Economy Study

The editors of PLOS One have issued an Expression of Concern for a county-level study of China’s rural digital economy because the article was identified as one of a series of submissions for which they have concerns about the integrity or reliability of the peer-review process. The notice, published on October 19, 2026, advises readers to interpret the article in light of that issue. The article under concern, “Spatial pattern of China’s rural digital economy based on subjective–Objective evaluation: Evidence from 2085 counties,” was written by Liu X, Ma F, Guo T and Ding Z and published in PLOS One in 2024 as volume 19, issue 2, article e0292249.

Its title identifies a study of spatial patterns in China’s rural digital economy using subjective and objective evaluation across 2,085 counties. The supplied editorial notice does not describe the study’s methods, data, statistical analyses or county-level results, so the Expression of Concern cannot be used to support or refute any specific geographic pattern reported in the original paper. PLOS One said its follow-up did not evaluate the article’s integrity or scientific validity.

The statement therefore does not determine that the original analysis, calculations or conclusions are invalid. Instead, it identifies concerns about the integrity and/or reliability of peer review. The notice also states that the editors do not have concerns regarding the authors’ conduct during the peer-review process, so the action is not presented as an accusation about the authors’ conduct in that process.

The Expression of Concern does not explain what happened during peer review, why the manuscript was grouped with other submissions, whether a correction or retraction will follow, or whether the concerns have since been resolved. It also does not identify a specific defect in the study’s data, analysis or conclusions. Because these matters remain undecided, the notice supports a limited conclusion: confidence in the article’s review process is subject to concern, while the scientific validity of the study has not been assessed by PLOS.

Researchers and other readers who consult the 2024 paper should therefore consider the Expression of Concern as context when assessing the work.

Subject of Research: Editorial concern over peer review of a county-level study of China’s rural digital economy

Article Title: Expression of Concern: Spatial pattern of China’s rural digital economy based on subjective–Objective evaluation: Evidence from 2085 counties

Article References: The PLOS One Editors (2026). Expression of Concern: Spatial pattern of China’s rural digital economy based on subjective–Objective evaluation: Evidence from 2085 counties. PLOS One, 21(10), e0360864. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360864

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360864

Keywords: PLOS One, Expression of Concern, peer review, research integrity, rural digital economy, China, counties, spatial analysis, scientific publishing, Expression, Concern, Spatial