Earlier quoted context omitted.
I worked on COVID epidemiology last year for a couple governments, so I am more familiar with the literature than most people. I don’t expect people to be as familiar as I am. However, the bane of my existence the last year have been people with strong opinions on “the science” on both sides that use “citation please” as a passive aggressive dismissal from a position of ignorance, and will promptly ignore any citatio…
It's probably easy for someone who knows what to look for, but I wouldn't even know where to start googling.
Nature is a reputable publication.
I think this boils down to internet folks assuming their conversational partner has the same level of knowledge they do, don't believe the other party, and then ask for proof, rather than educate themselves. The citation was trivial to produce.
"Citation needed," and it's cousins should be reserved for things that aren't easy to find. This is just embarrassing.