Trial By Error, Continued: A Few Words About “Harassment”

By David Tuller, DrPH David Tuller is academic coordinator of the concurrent masters degree program in public health and journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.   Last week, a commentary in Nature about the debate over data-sharing in science made some excellent points. Unfortunately, the authors lumped “hard-line opponents” of research into chronic fatigue syndrome with those who question climate change and the health effects of tobacco, among others—accusing them of engaging in “endless information requests, complaints to researchers’ universities, online harassment, distortion of scientific findings and even threats of violence.” Whatever the merits of the overall argument, this charge—clearly a reference to the angry response of patients and advocates to the indefensible claims made by the PACE trial–unleashed a wave of online commentary and protest on ME/CFS forums. Psychologist James Coyne posted a fierce response, linking the issue specifically to the PACE authors’ efforts to block access to their data and citing the pivotal role of the Science Media Centre in the battle. The Nature commentary demonstrated the degree to which this narrative—that the PACE authors have been subjected to a wave of threats and unfair campaigning against their work and reputations—has been accepted as fact by the UK medical and academic establishment. Despite the study’s unacceptable methodological lapses and the lack of any corroborating...
Source: virology blog - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Commentary Information chronic fatigue syndrome data sharing FOI information requests mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis PACE vexatious Source Type: blogs