It's not okay no matter who it is.
If a student in a classroom sees that the person next to them got a different answer and they change it so it matches the other person's answer, they're not learning anything. Data varies and the fact that the student changed it to try and get a better grade is really sad. Also, if the student changes their results so they match their hypothesis then it's not helping them learn anything. When scientists change their results to match their hypothesis it's not doing them any favors either. If anything they should change their hypothesis instead of their data. If a scientist looks at the data and the first thing they think of is "what do I want the data to tell me" they're looking at all of science entirely wrong. It's not about what you want the data to tell you, it's about what it does tell you, and what it means. If scientists selected just the points that prove their hypothesis they're being completely unethical and misinforming the public and other
scientists. The only problem is how to tell if a scientist is lying or not. Dr. Mann is completely correct when he states "It's easy to transpose two digits in recording a number or press the wrong key on a computer keyboard," but making a mistake is different from faking data. Yet, a scientist could claim that they had just made an error in recording their data if they're accused of fraud. It's so hard to tell the difference, so many scientists get away with "fudging" some of their data. It isn't fair to anyone when scientists "fudge" data and if they do it, it seems like they're saying that it's okay for everyone else to do it. If they can do it at work, then students can do it in the classroom. They're setting such a bad example for children, their peers, and themselves. A scientist fudging data is like a construction worker only building the outside of a house. You see the results you want on the surface and outsiders don't see a difference, but it could collapse at any moment. It's completely unethical and although it occurs a LOT in scientific research, that doesn't mean it's acceptable.