It's clearly the other way round. Competition is so fierce that people spin up fraudulent results to keep their job. Today's university work is becoming eerily similar to its corporate counterpart. Which is a huge loss for us all.

Not all people, just some people, those who are protected and think they can get away with it.

Imagine this story the other way around - PhD candidate accused by respectable researcher of making up data...the accuser would have been held out as a hero.

This has nothing to do with capitalism.

Odd how the whistleblower is finding herself in the same position as if she actually committed the fraud.

Look, I don't know what your personal experience is, but mine is that fabrication, or at least very optimistic interpretation of results is routine in most science shops. Many PIs actually spin up their PhDs results. This is so common nobody even talks about it anymore.

Yes, this has everything to do with capitalism. The optimal situation for science is when research institutions are surrounded by riches, i.e capitalism, but science is itself not too much constrained by money.

Capitalism does not reward honesty. It rewards ambition and greed. Today's universities faithfully reflect that.

What fields are you drawing from in your personal experience?