I think it's in no small part because the news has been so dire for the past few years: pandemic, war in Ukraine, possibility of nuclear escalation, China licki

I think it's in no small part because the news has been so dire for the past few years: pandemic, war in Ukraine, possibility of nuclear escalation, China licking lips at Taiwan, climate change, economy. Then some news comes along also coincidentally with other weird fun news (UAPs) that's not bad in any ways, and may revolutionize society. Of course they are gonna run with it.