You said, and I quote, that this was someone who

doesn’t even have any background in journalism or academic research;

And I point out that he has a degree in Communications, and you say that's not valid?

Communications includes Journalism and, depending on the university, you might be given a degree in Communications even though your field was journalism. Hell, my dad studied Computer Science for five years but his degree is labeled "Mathematics" because CS was part of the Math department at the time. My cousin studied Archeology but his degree is technically in Anthropology for the same reason. It's entirely possible to study Journalism and end up with a degree in Communications.

And considering that he spent four years of his life studying it, and another twenty working on it as his full-time 'hobby', and that the majority of people who study these things find his results to be valid, should speak to the overall quality of the site. But not everyone finds something in life that they can be this passionate about, to work at it unpaid for a quarter-century, so I can understand if you find it hard to believe.