When someone makes a factual claim that seems outrageous, I often ask how they know or what evidence they have.
They might be right! Counterintuitive facts exist, and this might be one. Sometimes I learn something.
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Sometimes, other people offer related information. That's nice in a social sense, but often they aren't addressing the actual question, which is distressing.
I don't know why people do this. I probably do it too; I think it's an effect of Twitter.
(Sometimes people take a question as an attack and attack in response. That sucks.)