Maybe raise the "accountability" part?

Baffles me that somebody can be professor, director, whatever, meaning: taking the place of somebody _really_ qualified and not get dragged through court after falsifying a publication until nothing is left of that betrayer.

It's not only the damage to society due to false, misleading claims. If those publications decide who gets tenure, a research grant, etc. there are careers of others, that were massively damaged.

A retraction due to fraud already torches your career. It's a black mark that makes it harder to get funding, and it's one of the few reasons a university might revoke tenure. And you will be explaining it to every future employer in an interview.

There generally aren't penalties beyond that in the West because - outside of libel - lying is usually protected as free speech