Publishing ethics
Guidance regarding potential defamation
An archived version of the Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics provided by Cochrane's publisher, Wiley, contains a section on libel and defamation, with guidance for editors handling submitted manuscripts, peer review reports, and other correspondence:
Editors should be alert to language in both submitted manuscripts and also in peer review reports or correspondence which could give rise to legal action for defamation or negligent misstatement. Such language, which can be directed at corporate entities and associations as well as individuals, should not appear within published articles and should be removed from any peer review report or correspondence that is passed on to the author.
Internal communication
Relatedly, editors should be aware that under GDPR, authors, peer reviewers, and others have the right to request the personal information that Cochrane holds about them, such as in Editorial Manager records. For this reason – and for general good practice – notes should be kept neutral and factual. See Cochrane's data protection policy for the principles of data protection and associated guidance.
Concerns should be raised with Cochrane's Research Integrity team (researchintegrity@cochrane.org) or Editor in Chief.