Correction notice: "Hidden in Plain Sight"
ScienceBank has published a correction to the article "Hidden in Plain Sight: Networked Power, Funding, and Accountability in Post-Publication Commentary" by Edward Mason, originally published on 30 September 2026 (DOI: 10.61340/ecpyzvk2). The corrected version was published on 12 October 2026 and replaces the original. The original version has been archived and is available on request from edops@sciencebank.com.
What has changed
1. Figure 1: consistency with Table 3. The article describes Table 3 as the source-controlled record of the relationships shown in Figure 1. The figure states that its connections show only publicly documented relationships. However, several connections in the original figure were not supported by Table 3 or conflicted with it:
- Funding attributed to WoodNext for the Sleuth in Residence Program did not match the origins of that programme as recorded in Table 3. The same applied to funding or involvement attributed to WoodNext and George Tidmarsh in the Elisabeth Bik Science Integrity Fund.
- The figure showed "leadership / professional role" connections from WoodNext to Ivan Oransky, David Vaux and James Heathers, and from George Tidmarsh to Elisabeth Bik. Table 3 records none of these relationships. It records WoodNext only as a funder of Retraction Watch and CSI.
- The figure showed an "award / recognition" connection from Smut Clyde to the Einstein Foundation Award 2024, which Table 3 does not record.
These connections have been corrected, so Figure 1 now matches Table 3. Three relationships documented in Table 3 were missing from the original figure and have been added:
- David Vaux's role on the CSI board
- James Heathers as director of the Medical Evidence Project
- Anna Abalkina's association with the Hijacked Journal Checker
2. Graphical corrections to Figures 1 and 2. Both figures had line colours and patterns that did not match their legends. They also had a line that changed colour along its length, duplicated or overlapping arrows, and an arrow that began in empty space. The author supplied revised figures that fix these issues, and they now appear in the article.
3. Use of AI. A query was raised about whether AI tools were used to prepare the figures. The author has confirmed that no generative AI image tool was used to create the figures, original or revised. As stated in the article's existing declaration, OpenAI was used only to assist with language editing and was not used as an evidentiary source. The author independently checked the claims, citations, public webpages, tables, figures and interpretations, and accepts full responsibility for the manuscript. This use is disclosed in line with ScienceBank's AI use policy, and no change to the declaration was required.
4. Publication dates. The PDF originally generated for this article showed incorrect peer review dates. This was caused by a technical error during ScienceBank's migration to a new publishing platform, which affected the dates of peer reviews in progress at the time. The article was submitted on 22 July 2026 on the previous platform and went through two rounds of peer review. The PDF has been regenerated with the correct received, accepted and published dates, which now match the dates on the article's About page.
5. Author identification. A query was raised about the author's identity. The author provided a valid ORCID iD, which meets ScienceBank's author identification requirements. No change to the authorship of the article was required.
Our approach
ScienceBank follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on post-publication corrections. Every change to a published article is recorded in a public correction notice, linked to and from the article, so readers can see what changed and why. Publishing these notices on our news page is standard practice.
We support independent and unaffiliated researchers, and we hold every author to the same policies on AI use, identity and data presentation.
Questions about this notice can be sent to edops@sciencebank.com.