They pay for bullshit research all the time. It comes from the advertising budget instead of the development budget.

If they were paying for bullshit research, they got what they wanted. Otherwise, they'd stop.

It has happened before i.e. Hendrik Schon, however these incidents are more to do with humanity as a species than their employers.

Nothing is 100%.

I'm talking about incentives here, and people do things almost entirely on selfish impulses. Money is a powerful motivator, and people are strongly motivated to not spend their own money on bullshit. That motivation is absent when government funds things - but other motivations remain.

Sure, I just think its an interesting story considering he might have been nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics for totally fraudulent work

Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for work later shown to be complete frauds. Those severely damaged the value of getting one. I know I don't attach any respect for Pulitzer Prizes.