Analysis Finds 853 Raoult Papers Had Ethical Issues — SkimNews
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- New analysis by an international research team found "substantial" ethical and legal concerns in 853 articles published by Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, with founder Didier Raoult listed as co-author on 758 of them.
- The team's review of 2,674 IHU papers published between 1994 and 2024 identified at least 78 articles appearing not to comply with French biomedical research law, 343 articles with no ethics approvals recorded, and dozens of approvals obtained retrospectively after studies began.
- Findings have already led to 64 articles being retracted and 270 tagged with an "expression of concern," including the hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin study retracted in 2025 for ethical and scientific reasons.
- Mehmet Oz, now head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees $1.6tn in annual spending, called Raoult's research "flabbergasted" on Fox & Friends and privately emailed Trump officials calling it a "potential pandemic solution," per emails obtained by a US House select committee.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now Health Secretary, named Raoult among the "heroic" scientists in his 2021 book "The Real Anthony Fauci," which attacked Fauci's stance on hydroxychloroquine.
- Researcher Lonni Besançon said the retracted paper drove hydroxychloroquine shortages, diverted scientific attention from other treatments, and fueled antivax conspiracy theories, with "millions of euros in research funds thrown out the window."
Why it matters: Current Trump health officials who now champion "gold-standard science" — Oz at CMS ($1.6tn budget) and Kennedy at HHS — publicly promoted research from an institute where 853 papers carry ethical red flags and 64 have already been retracted, calling the hydroxychloroquine study a "gamechanger" that Fauci dismissed as "anecdotal evidence." A Republican-led Senate committee recently voted to hold Fauci in contempt over Covid origins.
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