[beevai142]

I expect the article itself is more carefully worded than the press release.

I don't think people in the scientific community in general really care much about the press releases. The publicity is more something that the funding organizations and universities have started to require in recent years --- you may even get some quantified "career points" of some sort from them depending on the grant. The press releases are at best an afterthought for the researchers. As they are also often edited by the PR staff of the university, there may be some standardized level of hype injected.

[jessriedel]

There are many researchers who are eager to have their work publicized, both for reasons of pride and grant-writing. They often are far from diligent in working with the journalist to make sure the article is written with sufficient modesty. Yes, universities and funders have began directly soliciting hype journalism, but the researchers themselves still benefit, and follow incentives.