The research is being done as a public service, and results are shared with those who can and are doing something about it.
The research is being done by whom? Citizen journalists?
It obviously isn't being done by a PI as you say as nobody is getting paid and I know of no PI's who do anything for free. They expect to get paid for any work they do.
Then there would be no “private” investigators. They don’t work for free.
The researchers are volunteers. Spending their own money, their own time, their own energy. That is the fact. If someone was paying them, they’d be able to do more. They are private people, investigating, that’s what I meant.
And even professional private investigators don’t reveal all their findings and sources publicly until the time is right.