It was likely published because it was "new". You always need a belt-and-suspenders study if you're sniffing around for interesting phenomena. With that said, o

It was likely published because it was "new". You always need a belt-and-suspenders study if you're sniffing around for interesting phenomena. With that said, often times "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" as they say. As for why it got lots of press: It's the kind of study that would drive clicks/engagement, increasing ad impressions. So... Capitalism.