I don't think what is said, the generalization is the problem, but believing in the source of the information, and that's just ignorance/gullibility/lack of common sense, whatever else one may call that kind of behavior (You too can make $1,000 a day stuffing envelopes).

It does not hurt me in any way to believe "You are a nice guy with many unseen attributes that shine once noticed". As a matter of fact, if someone here said that in a post (but not calling me a guy since I'm a woman :-) I would believe that's how that person perceived me. However, a newspaper telling me that, that's something else :-) The newspaper has never had a single conversation with me or read any posts of mine.