One of the reasons that many 'pop-science articles' get things wrong is that they're seldom written by scientists. Scientists who venture into popular writing c

One of the reasons that many 'pop-science articles' get things wrong is that they're seldom written by scientists. Scientists who venture into popular writing can be looked down on as 'glory-hounds' by their colleagues. (E.g., George Gamow.) So it's not entirely the journalist's fault if they don't have the credentials to simplify things adequately without distorting something.