Remember when the internet was convinced that Batman v. Superman was going to reveal that Wonder Woman was actually Kryptonian? As I understand it, that all started with a random fan speculating wildly on his blog, but within twenty-fours it was being reported as "news," fandom was in an uproar ("Damn you, Warner Bros.!"), and even mainstream media sites were reporting on the "rumor," thereby giving it even more validity. ("But it's being reported everywhere!") And, of course, it turned out to be total bullshit.
The internet has a bad habit of blurring the distinction between speculation, rumor, and news, sometimes with terrifying speed.
Heck, I still run into people who think DISCO is an anthology series because they read something on the internet a few years ago or heard it from a friend of a friend . . ..