We, from the future archeological department, noticed that what we previously thought as "news" was a muddy concept.
They were cultural pieces, barely informative. There was much debate amongst ourselves.
Many of us believed movies and songs were the true representations of what happened in the past, whilst others insisted that newspapers and news outlets were more appropriate.
It took some time to convince the most skeptical that some period pieces, like movies set on past events, were actually talking about moments prior to their launch, not the intended period depicted.
The literalists, who believed everything was shallow, eventually had to admit they barely knew what was going on. Even the most radical ones started to lean in favor of our more ample perspective that considered many points of view at once.
And we had success in the ample approach for a long time. Until the macro-coincidences started to happen.
Thanks to a few unprepared saboteurs, we noticed a highly statistical discrepancy of events that did not match a selection of trusted sources. Those saboteurs were pivotal in revealing that the volume of information is irrelevant, and humanity has acquired the tools for lying to the future. Those tools were thoroughly examined and from them we started to establish the trusted sources and properly reconstruct the history of our ancestors.
It was a hard, arduous job. But it payed off. We eventually got rid of all noise and established communications across time again, reclaiming much of the cultural heritage that was lost.
These "forensic fandoms" you mention were in our radar for a while. Their conception, dissemination and methods were cross examined many times. We considered them to be mostly neutral (in aggregate), and we were sad when they were gone.
There were many different categories of it, eventually all extinct and replaced by a statistics based reaction system of little value to us.
Brings this story to mind:
"It finally happened! Seventeen years in the making, and 41 years after the song was released the search for the internet’s most notorious lost song has come to an end. Dubbed the Most Mysterious Song on the Internet, the song's real name is Subways of Your Mind. Song detectives have been chasing clues for this one for a long time. And I’m not going to lie, the reveal to this one completely lives up to the hype. If you’re in need of a feel good story with happy ending today, then this is your episode. You’ll be smiling from ear to ear when you hear about the origins of this famous undiscovered track. And you’ll fall in love with the band who wrote it, they are called FEX. These guys are the real deal. It’s a comeback story the likes of which has never been told before. The details of a lost band, their lost drummer, and the identity of an unknown mixtape track recorded in the 80s have all finally been revealed. You’re going to love this one… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. "
My girlfriend’s niece and her friend have no relationships to draw on. They don’t have relationships or sexual activity despite being over 21 and not unattractive. It’s all parasocial consumption and trivia about Taylor Swift and the other stars’ lives they consume. It’s a bizarre existence.