"Correlation is not causation" is still a valid comment to make, the original article says that deeper questions need to be asked.
However most of the time a news report just reports a single correlation. That's when those comments come out, its statistically insignificant to have one source/correlation and report it as news. Show me two correlations or more and I'll take more notice.
For example:
1, Smoking causes cancer
2, Smokers have a higher rate of lung cancer
3, Heavy smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer sooner than casual smokers
4, Smokers that quit lower their chances of cancer
As a set they make an valid argument, however individually they are weak.
However most of the time a news report just reports a single correlation. That's when those comments come out, its statistically insignificant to have one source/correlation and report it as news. Show me two correlations or more and I'll take more notice.
For example:
1, Smoking causes cancer 2, Smokers have a higher rate of lung cancer 3, Heavy smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer sooner than casual smokers 4, Smokers that quit lower their chances of cancer
As a set they make an valid argument, however individually they are weak.