# Help me build a list of scientists/drs that have been proven to be liars
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 29, 2013, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798 "2013-07-29T09:16:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/1 "2013-07-29T09:16:45Z")
As the title states anyone in a scientific field will do (ie doctors etc) - lying, dishonesty or proven to have done major unethical stuff. Just because I am curious.
And to get this one over and done with \*\*Andrew Wakefield \*\*[Andrew Wakefield - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield)
> [@](#):
>
> On 28 January 2010, a five-member statutory tribunal of the GMC found three dozen charges proved, including four counts of dishonesty and 12 counts involving the abuse of developmentally challenged children.[9] The panel ruled that Wakefield had “failed in his duties as a responsible consultant”, acted both against the interests of his patients, and “dishonestly and irresponsibly” in his published research.
Ok who else?
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/2 "2013-07-29T09:58:59Z")
The [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_syphilis_experiment#Study_clinicians) on the infamous Tuskegee experiment has several candidates.
[John Charles Cutler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_Cutler) was involved in that and in other medical atrocities.
> [@](#):
>
> Cutler oversaw the syphilis experiments in Guatemala in the 1940s, during which doctors deliberately infected an estimated 1500 Guatemalans, including orphans as young as nine, soldiers, prisoners and mental patients with syphilis without the informed consent of the subjects. This study not only violated the hippocratic oath but it echoed Nazi crimes exposed around the same time at the Nuremberg trials.
>
> In 1954, Cutler was in charge of experiments at Sing Sing prison to see if a vaccine made from the killed syphilis bacterium, would protect prisoners against infection when he later exposed them to the bacterium. Those infected were later treated with penicillin.
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### Author:  [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/3 "2013-07-29T11:22:10Z")
A [30-year old book](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1126068.Betrayers_of_the_Truth) may give you some of what you want. (I’d never heard of the book but stumbled on it just now Googling for mention of Galileo’s famous data fudging.)
[QUOTE=comment about Betrayers of the Truth]
the book shows how prevalant fraud is, even gregor mendol and galileo fudged some of their statistical data to make their theories seems stronger. both of their theories happened to turn out to be correct and so the fudged numbers are often forgotten and forgiven.
[/QUOTE]
The perpetrator of the Piltdown Man hoax, Chalres Dawson, would surely qualify. Was Pierre Teilhard de Chardin a co-conspirator, as Stephen Jay Gould thought? [No, says Mary Lukas](http://www.clarku.edu/~piltdown/map_prim_suspects/teilhard_de_chardin/Chardin_defend/teilhardandpilthoax(lukas).html).
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/4 "2013-07-29T13:20:17Z")
There are many cases given here:
> **[Scientific misconduct](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_misconduct)**
>
> Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in the publication of professional scientific research.
> A Lancet review on Handling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countries provides the following sample definitions, reproduced in The COPE report 1999:
> The consequences of scientific misconduct can be damaging for perpetrators and journal audience and for any individual who exposes it. In addition there are public health implicat...
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/5 "2013-07-29T13:23:40Z")
The ‘cold fusion’ guys Fleischmann and Pons.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/6 "2013-07-29T13:31:17Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
>
> The ‘cold fusion’ guys Fleischmann and Pons.
DId they lie or were unethical, or were they just wrong?
While [this case](http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/rcr/rcr_misconduct/foundation/#1_B_4) wasn’t famous outside academic circles it had lasting impact on the way science education at the PHD training level was conducted. I was a new grad student when the impact of this event came crashing down, and it was all the faculty, students and post-docs could talk about. Maybe not a big deal to the lay person, but it was a big deal to those of us on the inside.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/7 "2013-07-29T14:08:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> DId they lie or were unethical, or were they just wrong?
I was wondering whether to mention them. Hasty in announcing their work, and maybe not through the proper channels, but yeah, I’m not exactly sure they were out-and-out lying.
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### Author:  [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/8 "2013-07-29T14:20:39Z")
How about [William Summerlin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Summerlin), the guy who claimed to have transplanted skin grafts between genetically unrelated mice without immune rejection?
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### Author:  [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/9 "2013-07-29T14:46:09Z")
I’ll second **IvoryTowerDenizen’s** suggestion of the Baltimore case. It is now the classic ethics case for every biomedical research student. And it’s really a shame that it has come to be known as the “Baltimore case”. David Baltimore was found to not be aware of the misconduct and to have acted appropriately. His career has recovered; he has served as President of Rockefeller, CalTech, and AAAS, all since the case was resolved. However, there was certainly a time when he was thought to be the biggest name to be brought down by academic fraud.
My favorite fraud case is that of [Hyung-In Moon](http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/category/by-author/hyung-in-moon/). He made up reviewers for his manuscripts to ensure their acceptance. He would have gotten away with it much longer if he had just been more patient. An editor caught on when all of the reviews for his paper were returned within 24 hours. Anyone familiar peer-review knows that a 24-hour review _never_ happens.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/10 "2013-07-29T14:59:36Z")
Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb.
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### Author:  [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/11 "2013-07-29T15:18:00Z")
The [Bogdanov Brothers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogdanov_Affair) are well known as fraudsters in the physics community.
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/12 "2013-07-29T15:18:07Z")
> [@Bricker](#):
>
> How about [William Summerlin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Summerlin), the guy who claimed to have transplanted skin grafts between genetically unrelated mice without immune rejection?
I like that he just drew the “transplanted” skin on with a felt tip pen.
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### Author:  [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/13 "2013-07-29T15:22:37Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb.
Teller may be a jerk but I don’t think he’s really a liar. Lies by omission maybe, but not an out and out fraud.
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### Author:  [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/14 "2013-07-29T15:24:26Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#):
>
> My favorite fraud case is that of [Hyung-In Moon](http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/category/by-author/hyung-in-moon/). He made up reviewers for his manuscripts to ensure their acceptance. He would have gotten away with it much longer if he had just been more patient. An editor caught on when all of the reviews for his paper were returned within 24 hours. Anyone familiar peer-review knows that a 24-hour review _never_ happens.
Along similar lines is Amy Bishop – in an attempt to gain tenure, she published an article in a vanity-press journal and used her husband and small children’s names as her co-authors. Of course, that’s small potatoes compared to all the murder charges, &c
> **[2010 University of Alabama in Huntsville shooting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_University_of_Alabama_in_Huntsville_shooting)**
>
> On February 12, 2010, three people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. During a routine meeting of the biology department attended by approximately 12 people, Amy Bishop, a biology professor at the university, began shooting those nearest her with a Ruger P95 handgun.
> Bishop was charged with one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder. On September 11, 2012, she pleaded g...
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/15 "2013-07-29T15:28:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb.
Well, the thing does work. What was his lie?
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### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/16 "2013-07-29T15:42:21Z")
Dr Seitz is one of the big ones, not only did he sold his soul to the tobacco industry, he also did oversee many studies that \*\*all \*\*failed to show any harmful effects of cigarettes. The consensus was telling us the opposite by then and nowadays the evidence is more overwhelming on the harm of tobacco. But the Dr. never minded, the money coming to him was more important. He then testified to media and congressional critters that nothing should be done to the nice Tobacco companies.
Then magically, he became an “expert” in air pollution too, all bad effects of pollution coming from the fossil fuel industry were minimized by him. Including the effects of CO2 in the atmosphere. He lend his name and expertise to the fraudulent Oregon petition that was made to look like a peer reviewed paper and allowed even non scientists to become signers, inflating the number of the opposition. That petition has been used by politicians like Inhofe to delay any changes and regulations to global warming gas emissions. Prompting real scientific organizations to denounce Dr. Seitz and others involved in those shenanigans.
> **[Dr Frederick Seitz – Climate Denial Crock of the Week](https://climatecrocks.com/tag/dr-frederick-seitz/)**
>
> Posts about Dr Frederick Seitz written by greenman3610
Climate Crocks video on Dr. Seitz and his sorry history.
I particularly like the part of how a tobacco executive in a memo declared that Dr. Seitz was incompetent or unstable, in essence declaring that they should look for better crackpots to use as fronts.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/17 "2013-07-29T15:46:24Z")
[Sybll Exposed](http://www.amazon.com/Sybil-Exposed-Extraordinary-Multiple-Personality/dp/1439168288/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) does a real hatchet job on Dr. Cornelia Wilbur
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### Author:  [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/18 "2013-07-29T17:22:38Z")
what the – sorry! I just checked and had a duplicate post.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/19 "2013-07-29T18:53:34Z")
Some of the names on [this list](http://www.skepdic.com/nobeldisease.html) should qualify.
Although it can be hard to differentiate lying from fanatical stupidity, being addled by drugs etc.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-list-of-scientists-drs-that-have-been-proven-to-be-liars/664798/20 "2013-07-29T19:17:03Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Well, the thing does work. What was his lie?
There were a lot of them. Read [The Firecracker Boys](http://www.amazon.com/The-Firecracker-Boys-Dan-ONeill/dp/0312134169/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375125015&sr=8-1&keywords=firecracker+boys) for a full accounting. It could just be that Teller was delusional, but he deliberately falsified data on fallout readings on nuclear tests in order to justify his agenda of nuclear geo-engineering. This agenda included detonating devices to melt the polar caps in order to irrigate deserts, excavating a harbor in Alaska near populated areas, leveling mountains in order to provide city space and to create gaps through rugged ranges, etc. He maintained that fallout readings were way below danger levels to humans, when the data clearly showed otherwise. The guy was an egomaniac who was willing to endanger the population to further his goals.
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