IMHO it happens mostly because of perverse incentives of AD supported media: controversial statements attract more clicks (and more revenue). Point that "masks

IMHO it happens mostly because of perverse incentives of AD supported media: controversial statements attract more clicks (and more revenue). Point that "masks don't work" (even if it is not stated directly, but assumed) is more controversial than: "we don't know if masks work". With COVID-19 I see fair amount of articles when a scientist says "We don't have (strong) evidence for X" and an article hints that X is not true (without saying this explicitily).