One (since discredited) paper about vaccinations having a link to autism + a press frenzy about it led to a lot of parents not vaccinating their children and that has had consequences in terms of disease outbreaks.
This is an example of social distortion, which as I said is much more dangerous than debating theory. Scare tactics are used all over media, and is a form of social control.
If you read about a theory and immediately 'drink the cool-aid', that might speak more about an individual having impulse control issues, or a lack of any real foundation.
I am a REer, but as I read more about FET, I have actually learned some things about RE that I never knew. I've considered things about perception and space that I have not considered prior to joining this society.
The best ideas originate by challenging the status quo, or in groups where different ideas are brought to the table. In group-theory, there is a phenomenon called "group think" where a collective decision is made when nobody wants to challenge the leader of the group. Everyone blindly agrees to a policy or decision because they are all afraid to say something different - this is harmful to the group and the individual.
For years and several generations, we have blindly believed in what we were told for no other reason than we were told it. Our global (pardon my biased terminology) community is in dire need of social enlightenment. We are destroying ourselves slowly, but surely, in more ways than one. We will not gain this desperately needed enlightenment if we blindly follow old ideology.