Ward and Day's 2001 article about catastrophic tsunamis from a collapse of the volcanic edifice of the Canarian island of La Palma has been widely criticized, but its ripples continue 20 years later, continuing to show up in breathless newscasts and excited chatrooms.

(The original:
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2001GL013110)

Or, it is claims of Yellowstone about to blow. Or something like that.

Really, geology doesn't have a celebrity voice. John McPhee was a great writer, but didn't have a huge following, as he never made sensationalist claims. There are many geologists with YouTube channels that are very good, but few subscriptions. The crappy, click baiting, we are all going to die channels don't have any real geologists, and lots of subscriptions. Fear sells.

Otherwise, most debates in geology are so esoteric nobody gives a damn.

And yeah, Michio Kaku. Heavy Sigh.