[Goronmon]

On the other hand, where are the photos? Where's the meticulous documentation? To trek all the way there to address this and then not take copious photos to share with the media?

The article reads like they didn't even look for the boulder itself. Just that they made a brief visit to the island before turning around.

The "proving it was a hoax" part seems entirely down to the lack of available evidence that could be found before the trip was undertaken. The trip itself seems separate from that.