Predatory publishers produce low-quality journals with potentially unvetted, sloppy, or fraudulent articles. Readers of these journals may not recognize the poor quality of the articles. While experienced researchers are likely able to distinguish the authentic science from "junk science," laypersons and students may not recognize the difference. Conclusions and results from poor quality articles are sometimes picked up by mainstream media and represented as fact. This results in unproven theories and myths incorrectly being viewed as fact.
Busy researchers may be fooled by a predatory publisher and mistakenly submit their paper to a low-quality, predatory journal. Authors who publish in predatory journals may find that their papers will be less valued by the scientific community and as a result, less impactful. Additionally, the author fees to publish in predatory journals are steep and will result in poor value for the money spent.