Commentary on "Consumed by Creed"

"Consumed by Creed" is a research article that suggests a link between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and support for political violence. Analyzing the article and the data set provided by the authors, we found errors in their methodology and procedures, accompanied by a high degree of researcher freedom that could have led to the finding of false-positive results. Given the important political and psychological implications of the claimed findings and the weakness of the evidence presented, we recommend substantial caution in interpreting the results reported in the article, and we urge researchers to drastically improve current research practices in the field of radicalization to ensure that policy decisions are based on valid and reliable evidence.