The raise your hand question should have been an insult to any thinking person. The origin and diversity of all life are topics so complex, they make climate science seem simple - which it is not.
The question had the quality of a loyalty test. In the 30s in Germany it might have been “who here does not support the Fuhrer?”
It was the equivalent of, "Which ones among you should we in the media stop taking seriously, right from the get-go?" Sam realized that too late, and has come up with an interesting dance around the question, way after the fact.