[ethbro]

A lot of this in media is scientific laziness on the author's part. Which I admit is partially science's fault in saying "the facts speak for themselves" and failing to engage in a responsible manner (e.g. Sagan, Nye, or Tyson).

But I feel as though at some point in journalism school, it's drilled into students never to say "this thing is, and I stand behind it."

Instead, we get either the global negative ("People who are not me say this thing is") or an artificial alternative ("Some say this thing is, others hold this [uncredible but nevertheless presented] view").

Scientists issue retractions all the time - that's how the process works. Media should be comfortable with the same when it's interfacing on science questions.