Maybe you have heard of the Overton Window?*
You essentially can't publish it if it a. Falls too far outside what the public will readily believe and b. Is not adequately backed up with verifiable hard facts.
Speculation that they intentionally pulled the fire alarm would have been considered mudslinging and yellow journalism at the time the research was done. It's print-worthy now because we now know that Theranos did so much dishonest crap that pulling the fire alarm is not unbelievable and is such small potatoes in the grand scheme of things that it isn't even mudslinging. It's a nit.