[cthalupa]

>This has been a popular fringe scientific theory for many years under the title Electric Universe Theory.

They're not at all related.

>but its lead proponents tend to be real scientists referencing real, peer-reviewed literature.

They have real PhDs, some of them from respectable universities, but it's an incestuous group that has people not participate in studies so they can all peer review each other in "journals" with no real standing.