[1] Described as a scientific gadfly, the pseudonymous Francis is "a source both legendary and loathed in biomedical circles" for their "uncanny knack for seeing improperly altered images, as well as smaller flaws that some editors are inclined to ignore.
"[2] Francis refers to themself as an "attentive reader"; their "real identity, gender, and occupation remain secret.
Clare's emails are read and assessed, but they’ve set boundaries in regard to what kinds of cases they’ll investigate, how far back, and how many papers they'll look into before deciding if it's warranted to go any further.
(Many cases will require cross referencing one piece of original research with 5, 10 or more suspected papers to plagiarize it).
[5]In a Lab Times editorial, Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky, who run the Retraction Watch blog, argue that journal editors "should stop ignoring anonymous whistle-blowers" such as Francis.