[WS:] I think the problem is with institutions, not individuals. They are supposed to be checking those things. My master's thesis manuscript at the San Jose State University - basically a notch above a trade school - was sent back to me for a revision by a university reviewer for an incorrect application of a statistical method - nothing intentional or major but they caught that nonetheless. So clearly, a top ranking school faculty can tell bullshit when they see it. The problem is, however, that they often look the other way and not necessarily only when funding or celebrities are involved. I heard stories of department chairs putting informal pressure on the faculty to "go easy" on students for reasons having more to do with maintaining certain number of bodies in the department than sucking up to funders or celebrities. Universities, especially prestigious ones, are first dispensaries of expensive credentials and only second institutions of higher learning.
Wojtek