Through tracing a real case, this study illustrates the negative academic effects of citation errors, especially those transmitted through secondary source citation. We compare the policies of Scopus, SSCI, and TCI-HSS in dealing with citation errors. We strongly recommend that the newly established TCI-HSS should follow the policy of SSCI and correct citation errors in papers. This policy would reduce the possibility of transmitting citation errors when scholars retrieve the reference from TCI-HSS. More importantly, this would remind scholars of the risk when citing secondary sources, and transmitting citation errors after they find mismatches between TCI-HSS references and the original paper’s citation errors. Moreover, we provide an argument for the legitimacy of this policy from the perspective of the Copyright Act. As to the system of the National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan, we do not recommend the same policy of correcting citation errors. Degree theses and dissertations are part of the records kept by universities of degree examinations, so the status quo should be maintained. In addition, we also provide clarification of the notions of secondary citing and illegitimate citing proposed by some scholars.