<
https://theconversation.com/when-science-discourages-correction-how-publishers-profit-from-mistakes-272657>
"Flawed scientific articles don’t just clutter journals — they misguide
policies, waste taxpayer funds, and endanger lives. Errors in top-tier research
persist due to a broken correction system. Consider our own recent experiences.
In March 2025,
Communications Earth & Environment published a paper claiming
oil palm certification reduces yields and drives land expansion. But the study
misread satellite data – interpreting temporary declines during replanting as a
loss of production area. When corrected, the data show no decline in
efficiency.
The paper’s conclusion, that certification increases land demand, is therefore
unsupported. Despite this, our request for retraction was declined, and we were
asked to submit a rebuttal text, but our rebuttal remains under review nearly a
year later.
Another example is a 2023
Nature paper estimating deforestation due to rubber
plantations. The study’s sampling errors overstated rubber’s deforestation
footprint. Our correction finally appeared almost two years later – behind a
paywall – by which time the flawed study had been cited 98 times and shaped
multiple policy reports.
Both papers passed peer review in leading journals, showing that even top-tier
systems promote errors as easily as insights."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
