Researchers say the complaint filed against Elisabeth Bik could have a ‘chilling effect’ on scholarly criticism.
A prominent French microbiologist has filed a criminal complaint against a world-renowned research-integrity specialist after she publicly flagged concerns about his published work, including papers suggesting that the drug hydroxychloroquine was effective at treating COVID-19, a claim that has now been refuted.
Elisabeth Bik does important work identifying image manipulations/problems in research outputs, so the reported court action is a concern. The sleuths who spot problems in the academic record deserve to be celebrated, not dragged to court. Also see https://www.theguardian.com…
Bik — whose work scrutinizing images in research papers has earned her a worldwide following and has led to more than 170 retractions — denies these allegations, and says that her comments about the pair’s work are standard scientific critiques.