We’ve now gone past Stage 1: Ignoring the story.
Entering stage 2: the “Fake, but accurate.” stage.
About stage 4 or 5 will come “Hell, we knew it was a scam all along”
“Entering stage 2: the “Fake, but accurate.” stage.”
Exactly. This is the back-pedal option #1 - the scientists harbored ‘fleeting doubts’ but ‘the science is solid’.
AP is just testing the cover story.