Yes, you fundamentally are.
>I have deep expertise in this exact area, and based on my experience and knowledge and ability to read papers in this area, I can confidently say that this is a bad "paper" that does not prove the claim made.
There is no functional difference between the here because you don't even provide an argument as to why this is.
What is the real difference between "I have deep expertise in this area and knowledge and experience" and "I have a PhD"? Is a PhD not a proxy for expertise, knowledge, and experience in a subject?
What is the difference between "believe me" and "I can confidently say that this is a bad "paper" that does not prove the claim made"? Are you not asking me to believe your conclusion based entirely on your authority? You have made no argument for me to evaluate.
One form is more verbose, but it is still 100% an appeal to authority.
It is one thing to state your credentials and then make an argument. It is another to state your credentials and a conclusion with no argument.