New York Times Reporter Makes Assumptions, Waves Hands

Hand waving is a term I picked up in my college years taking classing in math, engineering, and science. It refers to talking quickly and waving your hands about in the air as a way of distracting people from realizing that you aren't proving your assertions. I saw a great case of this in a Hillary Chura piece in the New York Times called Dealing With the Damage From Online Critics. I agree with the concept that consumers can use the Internet to cause public relations strife for businesses. However, Ms. Chura writes the following:

Business is not alone in such frustrations. Politicians like Hillary Rodham Clinton, authors like Patricia Cornwell as well as other public and private individuals find themselves in the cross hairs of commentators emboldened by the anonymity of cyberspace. But such postings can do more than just irritate; financial damages can reach millions of dollars or shut down a business entirely.

That would be fine if she actually brought up examples of corporations pushed out of business or where the measurable financial damages hit the millions, but she never does. Instead, she immediately jumps to how companies can and do respond. To me, this errant paragraph is actually the premise for the entire article. So, why didn't the editors catch this piece of flummery?