I don't think there's an organized effort to promote this beyond increasing book sales and ratings.

It's a modern recycling of the Flood Myth, Ragnarok, etc., it appeals to a lot of people on an irrational level and publishers and producers are just cashing in.

These cable documentaries are pretty ridiculous, especially the usual cast of talking heads. Just because someone is sitting in front of a bookcase and there's a subtitle that says "researcher and author" doesn't mean they're not batshit crazy.