I misunderstood the origin of the article when I looked at it.

I thought that the piece was part of a larger news article being quoted from the wires, not a op-ed piece.

I apologize for jumping on / singling out the remark.

The sentence, I felt, failed to state an objective case with sufficient strength.   The errrors and inaccuracies of these private indices are well established and easily demonstrable.  As such, I was siding with those professionals in our industry who would claim that this statement is more than a mere claim, in and of itself.

Sorry for the mis-read.