[washedup]

It's dangerous to make big generalizations like "no one actually caring if the statistics are valid." This simply is not true. Sure, a lot of what you see on /r/dataisbeautiful is garbage, but that's because it's an open forum where anyone can show what they think they have found. Usually, whenever someone makes an egregious statistical error, they are called out for it. Of course, the same happens on larger scales and even in published research.

"Data science" at it's core is just statistical analysis, but it has been slowly morphing over the past few decades thanks to the budding field of machine learning and the commoditization of computing power. This has drastically changed the field of statistical research, and although the underlying math is the same, the tools and the amount of data are constantly in flux. Someone along the way must have felt that this evolution of statistical analysis needed a new name. In all honesty, it's just a name, and it doesn't matter. What matters is if you understand how to use it.