Killer Viruses from Outer Space!
In January, 2018, Dr. Stedman was a co-author on a review paper in Astrobiology exploring the possibility of viruses in space. Just before publication, he was interviewed by Slate, where he talked about why NASA should be looking for viruses in space. From there, you could say the story went "viral," with websites misinterpreting the Slate piece ad infinitum, until the original meaning of the interview was completely lost to hyperbole and bad reporting.
As we traced the progression of the headlines, watching as they became more and more fantastical, it was both hilariously baffling, and deeply unsettling. The evolution of this "telephone" like reporting serves as a great example as to why we should all be more wary of what we read on the internet, seek out primary literature, and strive to support widespread scientific literacy.