Gaslighting Explained
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that aims to make the victim doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity. It can take many forms, from making outright false statements to twisting the truth, denying reality, and projecting blame and shame. Gaslighting is often used by individuals struggling to acknowledge and address their own emotional challenges and tend to “cope …
The Impact on Whistleblowers and Academic Literature
Papers of questionable quality are lurking in the literature, being cited, influencing guidelines – and should be retracted. However, retractions are time-sensitive and usually take quite some time to be issued. Among all reasons why an article may be deemed unfit for publication, the most common are plagiarism and data fabrication. The presence of signs and symptoms of gaslighting in a whistleblowing context should be accepted as evidence of reprisals. For too long, the negative effects of whistleblower gaslighting have been used to further the myth of an under-performing employee who made up accusations of misconduct because he was disgruntled and keeps harping on about it. Gaslighting is not psychological violence, it is argued, but a “voluntary relinquishing of one’s own narrative to another person” and the “victim” should be tasked with asking themselves what … On the other hand, if it is found that the research was carried out, or conclusions drawn, in a fraudulent way, the editorial board of a publication may retract the article. Reasons for this type of paper retraction include fraudulent data, plagiarism, untrue authorship claims, multiple submissions of the article, or general misconduct related … The reasons to retract an article should follow these same commonly understood standards of academic freedom. Even though academic journals may not be directly connected to universities, they ought to embrace similar protections for academic freedom because they share a common goal of intellectual advancement, and a common need to protect … Although retracted papers still represent a miniscule proportion of the total published literature, the rate of increase in retractions is alarming, as retracted papers tarnish both a researcher’s career and the integrity of the literature itself. Studies may be retracted for a variety of reasons. The reason behind the retraction involves various stakeholders involved in academic publishing for various reasons including plagiarism. This could be due to the authors or co-authors retracing the study, journal editors issuing a retraction after complaints from readers, editors-in-chief issuing retractions because of extensive issues reported … More recent pop culture references to gaslighting include a 2020 song by the Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks ― “Gaslighter, denier/ Doin’ anything to get your ass farther/Gaslighter, big timer/Repeating all of the mistakes of your father,” sings then-newly divorced lead singer Natalie Maines ― and the internet accusing a … In general, a retraction notice should cover a single retracted article. Retraction notices should mention the reasons and basis for the retraction to enable readers to understand why the article is unreliable and should also specify who is retracting the article and possibly how the matter came to the journal’s attention (claimants may …
