How Open Research Intelligence Protects the Scientific Record

During geopolitical, health, and environmental crises, digital spaces that promised to increase democratic dialogue and ease information sharing are now increasingly used to manipulate public perception and misinform. Open Science offers an important defence against this information environment by making the evidence behind research more visible, traceable and open to scrutiny. When data, methods and research outputs can be examined and reused, questionable claims are easier to challenge and scientific findings easier to verify. 

This global framework relies heavily on data transparency, public accessibility, and the principles of FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable data). But access alone is not enough. Research information also needs context: clear provenance, metadata and connections between the people, organisations, methods, funding and outputs behind it. Without this structure, even openly available information can be difficult to interpret, verify or reuse. 

The toll of information vacuums took on human form during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Elgazzar study suggested that ivermectin (medication used to treat infections caused by parasites) could reduce COVID-19 mortality and hospitalisation. The study became part of a growing body of research cited in support of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment. Its findings fed into subsequent meta-analyses at a time when ivermectin was already attracting significant public and political attention. Ivermectin rapidly gained attention on social media, particularly among groups of anti-vaccine activists who contributed significally in spreading the word.

Some scientists and physicians, however, were not convinced. It was only when independent researchers demanded the raw datasets and the metadata, that serious inconsistencies became apparent. After investigation, it was clear that the study used fraudulent and duplicated data to support its conclusions about ivermectin's effectiveness.

The consequences did not stop with one paper. The study had already been incorporated into meta-analyses examining ivermectin, meaning questionable data had begun to influence a much wider body of evidence. Once those concerns were identified, researchers were able to reassess the conclusions built upon it.

The case illustrates why access to the evidence behind scientific claims matters. Scrutiny of the underlying data allowed independent researchers to identify inconsistencies that were not apparent from the headline findings alone. Just as importantly, those findings could then be reassessed in the wider research record, helping prevent unreliable evidence from continuing to shape subsequent analyses and debate. 

In a crisis, trustworthy information depends not simply on having more information, but on being able to establish where it came from, how it was produced, and what it is connected to. Open Science helps provide this transparent evidence base by making research data, methodologies, and other elements of the research process more accessible and open to scrutiny.

This is where Open Science and Open Research Intelligence meet. Making individual research outputs openly available is essential, but protecting the scientific record also requires the ability to understand those outputs in context: who produced them, which data and methods underpin them, how they relate to other research, and where funding and institutional affiliations sit within that wider picture.

As emphasised in the OpenAIRE Strategy 2026–2028 , Open Science has evolved into a "strategic imperative" for a trustworthy and secure scientific enterprise. This means not only keeping research openly accessible, but also ensuring that the information systems increasingly used to organise, interpret, and reuse scientific knowledge remain transparent and accountable. This is why OpenAIRE advocates for, a decentralised ecosystem in which scientific knowledge and research information is treated as a public good.

This thinking is also reflected in the OpenAIRE Graph, a global, curated, and open map of science that connects publications, datasets, software, researchers, organisations, projects, and other elements of the scholarly record. By making these relationships openly available and traceable, the Graph helps researchers, institutions, policymakers, journalists, and increasingly AI-driven tools work with research information in context rather than as isolated claims.

Treating research intelligence as public infrastructure therefore strengthens our collective ability to scrutinise evidence, trace how knowledge is produced and connected, and build tools and policies on a more transparent foundation. In an information environment increasingly affected by misinformation, this openness is an important part of keeping the scientific record trustworthy, accountable, and resilient. 

Sources:

Unravelling the infodemic: a systematic review of misinformation dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic

Misinformation, Trust, and Use of Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

Flawed ivermectin preprint highlights challenges of COVID drug studies

Key challenges in epidemiology: embracing open science