> I always wondered -- was this an actual experiment, or is it a just-so story?
That's not relevant though, just like it's not relevant for a boy who cried wolf to actually have existed for the allegory to send a clear message. Enforcing rules after their rationale ceased to apply is pointless.
"Tradition" is smarter than you are. You might be able to ignore it for a while, maybe years, but the Gods of the Copybook Headings will eventually return.
I don't recall who said it, but paraphrased: "To see how useless the news is, read last week's paper."
Further, if you must consume news: avoid watching it in favor of listening to it; avoid listening to it in favor of reading it; avoid reading from institutions in favor of reading from actual individuals.
EDIT: looks made-up, at least according to this: https://factschology.com/factschology-articles-podcast/monke...