Isn't the more parsimonious explanation that science journalists and writers have scientist friends or advisors who they consult when something interesting happens? I imagine their correspondence going something like:

"Hi, Jack, came across this thing where they claim to have created artificial life. Is it real?"

"It's an impressive step..."

"Hey, Jack, there's this new thing called LK-99 that everyone is excited about. Why?"

"It's not real"

Some amount of `site:www.quantamagazine.org "Jack Szostak"` querying on Google seems to indicate this might be the case. Though I have to say it's probably not everyone who has a Nobel laureate on their rolodex for a quick "hi, is this real?"