<p>It’s possible to come up with a scenario where almost any web site would be relevant to a history paper – for example, if the paper made an argument about how topic X is sadly misunderstood in modern America, then a pop-culture site referring to topic X would be a perfectly good source to support that. In my field, many academic articles have one or two cites to something non-scholarly to illustrate some problem or pattern the article will then address. So, say, an article arguing that American rape law is an extension of Y philosophy might start by describing the way rape was depicted in a particular movie.</p>
<p>But I agree, the story is very strange.</p>