Definition
Plain language
A write-up by an independent investigator flagging suspicious data in a published paper.
As stated in the literature
Post-publication integrity analysis (e.g. image duplication or statistical anomaly detection) circulated on platforms like PubPeer, often preceding formal editorial action.
Also called: sleuth reports
Why it matters: These informal reports often surface problems years before journals act, so they are frequently the earliest warning a paper is unreliable.
For example, an independent researcher posts side-by-side images showing the same blot band reused in two supposedly different experiments.
Heard on the show
“… machine-readable record of scientific credibility covering retractions, expressions of concern, sleuth reports, and inherited pseudoscientific traditions. …”Episode 240 — Frontier Models Designed Follow-Ups To Fraudulent Papers 93% Of The Time