The story has become about 'due diligence'. Journalists shouldn't just accept what they're told in press releases.
Strava is a good primary source, and there's nothing wrong with reporting what's happening there. We can also accept that records are going to take a while to ratify. So when we're told that Bruce has gone for records, has been seen to do them on Strava, and has applied for ratification, it all seems to add up.
The unusual thing here is that Janet Davison did her ride after Bruce, and was ratified. YACF's role in this is interesting. Jo's graphics were the best way of monitoring the rolling progress of the participants. But there's no point in doing that work if the record fails due to lack of due diligence.