[burger]

Failure to disclose potential conflicts of interest is problematic.   Potentially more problematic (if that is what was in those emails) is the funder directing the conduct of the study.

However, it is usually a venal, not a mortal sin, and, unfortunately very common in academia.

I think there's a big difference between "forgot to mention that I'm on such-and-such board" and "the funder was in regular email contact with the scientists about the direction and results of the study and exerted influence over the study."  That's unethical regardless of whether or not the relationship is disclosed.

Also, as a non-medical scientist, I'm amazed that not disclosing conflicts of interest is considered no big deal.  I work in a field in which almost no one has a financial stake in the outcomes of their research (other than the interest in advancing careers, getting future funding, etc., but that's true in all of science).  If it turned out that people had paychecks riding on the outcome of a study and didn't disclose it, it would be a big scandal in my field.

There are plenty of examples that show that conflicts of interest, even when disclosed, can influence research outcomes.  This was the first one I pulled up: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1494677/  I know I've seen others.

[burger]

Failure to disclose potential conflicts of interest is problematic.   Potentially more problematic (if that is what was in those emails) is the funder directing the conduct of the study.

However, it is usually a venal, not a mortal sin, and, unfortunately very common in academia.

I think there's a big difference between "forgot to mention that I'm on such-and-such board" and "the funder was in regular email contact with the scientists about the direction and results of the study and exerted influence over the study."  That's unethical regardless of whether or not the relationship is disclosed.

Also, as a non-medical scientist, I'm amazed that not disclosing conflicts of interest is considered no big deal.  I work in a field in which almost no one has a financial stake in the outcomes of their research (other than the interest in advancing careers, getting future funding, etc., but that's true in all of science).  If it turned out that people had paychecks riding on the outcome of a study and didn't disclose it, it would be a big scandal in my field.

There are plenty of examples that show that conflicts of interest, even when disclosed, can influence research outcomes.  This was the first one I pulled up: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1494677/  I know I've seen others.