As a result of lockdown boredom I became a Twitter twit. There I came across a link to an excellent article relating to drug testing. Obviously its important for drugs to be tested properly, both for efficacy and safety. Reputable publishers now require researchers to make their raw data available for indepencent analysis. The following articles show a detailed investigation into a large study to deterime how effective Ivermectin (worming pills normally used for horces) is in treating Covid. Its a facinating insight into how detailed analysis of the data can be used to uncover poor quality research and how difficult it is to falsify results when subjected to proper scrutiny.
Ivermectin is not the only snake oil being pushed as a cure. Read here an older article on Hydroxychloroquinine, a similary useless drug.
Its not just in medicine that it is possible to uncover fraud by careful analysis of the raw data. The Wikipedia article on ‘Bentfords Law’ gives lots of examples of the use of careful statistical analysis in detection of fraud in elections, accounting and criminal trials.
The moral of this is to be very careful you are not being blinded by science when reading armchair experts posting on Twitter. Look carefully at the credentials of the person who is posting and what their sources are.