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Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by JumpCrisscross on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @01:33PM (#46530479)
> intentional misconduct can be tough to prove

It's hard to prove when it isn't investigated. How many of the debunked psychology professors took federal funding? How many have been criminally investigated?

Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by ceejayoz on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @01:35PM (#46530512)
> How many of the debunked psychology professors took federal funding?

But being wrong isn't a crime. Intentional fraud is.

> It's hard to prove when it isn't investigated.

And it's hard to investigate without some reasonably solid evidence of a crime.

Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by JumpCrisscross on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:31PM (#46532163)
> it's hard to investigate without some reasonably solid evidence of a crime

I’d say the Ariely affair is reasonably suspicious.

Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by ceejayoz on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:38PM (#46532299)
I don't disagree, but it appears Duke did investigate in that case, and was unable to prove intentional wrongdoing.

I am glad it takes more than mere suspicion for the government to go search my private writings and possessions.

Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by stanford_labrat on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @04:36PM (#46533290)
my own institution launched an internal investigation into a professor who i know for a fact committed fraud and was "unable to prove intentional wrongdoing". academic institutions have taken the "this never happens because we are morally pure" approach which we all know is a load of baloney, they are perversely incentivized to never admit fraud.

the witness and reportee who i am friends with was directly instructed by this professor to falsify data in a more positive light in order to impress grant funders. multiple people were in attendance in this meeting but even that was not enough to see any disciplinary action.

duke also has a notorious reputation for being a fraud mill.

Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by JumpCrisscross on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @09:20PM (#46536360)
> it appears Duke did investigate in that case, and was unable to prove intentional wrongdoing

They also kept the grant money. The university investigating itself isn’t meaningful.

Re:Sugar industry influenced researchers and blamed fat for ... by ceejayoz on Thursday January 08, 2026 @09:31AM (#46541411)
> They also kept the grant money.

Is that not the reasonable response if an investigation didn't turn up wrongdoing?