Maybe a good reporter has three possible stories on a subject. 1. A positive look at the company. 2. A negative look at the company. 3. A balanced look at the company.
In the final analysis the editiorial staff make the writers release the story that while informative and captivating must also be essentially truthful. So usually #3 gets issued. imo
I can tell you with 100% certainty that you're wrong on that. The story was that the financials didn't go up, and most knew they wouldn't because the audited financials did not exist.