Free Tool
Citation Checker
Verify your citations against real academic databases. Detect AI-hallucinated references, incorrect DOIs, and fabricated sources — before you submit.
How it works
Paste your citations
Copy your reference list or bibliography from your paper — any style works (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.)
Verify against databases
CiteMe checks each citation against CrossRef, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, and Google Books for accuracy
Review flagged issues
Get a scored integrity report highlighting incorrect DOIs, wrong years, missing authors, and unverifiable references
Why you need a citation checker today
AI writing tools like ChatGPT generate plausible-looking citations that don't actually exist. Research has found that a significant portion of AI-generated references are fabricated — complete with fake DOIs, invented authors, and non-existent journals.
CiteMe's citation checker solves this by verifying every reference against real academic databases. If a citation doesn't match any known record, it gets flagged immediately. If you specifically want to audit a bibliography produced by ChatGPT or Claude, start with the AI reference checker guide.
Who uses a citation checker?
Before Submitting a Paper
Catch formatting errors, wrong DOIs, and misattributed authors before peer review.
After Using AI Writing Tools
Verify that ChatGPT or other AI tools didn't hallucinate fake references in your draft.
Reviewing Student Work
Professors and TAs can quickly check if student bibliographies contain fabricated sources.
Thesis & Dissertation Prep
Verify hundreds of references across chapters before your final submission.
Verified against 4 academic databases
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a citation checker do?
A citation checker verifies that the references in your paper actually exist and are accurate. CiteMe cross-checks each citation against CrossRef, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, and Google Books to confirm DOIs, titles, authors, and publication years.
Can it detect citations generated by AI?
Yes. AI tools like ChatGPT frequently hallucinate references — they create realistic-looking citations for papers that don't exist. CiteMe flags these instantly because they fail verification against real academic databases.
What citation styles does it support?
All major styles including APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, ABNT, OSCOLA, and 40+ more. Just paste your bibliography in any format.
Is it free to use?
Yes. Check up to 3 references with full details for free, no account needed. Pro users get unlimited checks, export, and PDF upload.
How is this different from a plagiarism checker?
Plagiarism checkers scan your text for copied content. A citation checker verifies that your sources are real and correctly cited. They complement each other — use both before submitting.
Can I upload a PDF?
Yes. Upload your paper as a PDF and CiteMe will automatically extract and verify all references. Your file is processed in-browser and never uploaded to our servers.
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All Citation Tools
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Check your citations now
Paste your bibliography and get a scored integrity report in seconds. Free, no signup required.