Harvard Business School faced a trial after an internal investigation found a faculty member had committed research misconduct. The report, made public due to a lawsuit, was dismissed by the court, ruling that evidence-backed conclusions don’t amount to defamation. The Data Colada researchers, who identified the fabricated data, were also cleared of defamation accusations. Providing links to data sources and using cautious language in their accusations protected them. The case highlights the importance of scientific communities in identifying research misconduct and the significance of evidence-based conclusions in avoiding defamation accusations, ultimately benefiting the scientific record as a whole.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/09/court-clears-researchers-of-defamation-for-identifying-manipulated-data/