I think it originated from Newsweek. I found others in US journals, and it didn't catch up at all in other developed countries, as it was not a scientific article (hence why i never heard of it at all growing up). I don't understand why this myth seems to be present also in the UK, my guess is that's a tabloid who dug that 70s Newsweek story and sold it to 'uninformed' (or gullible, depending on how charitable you want to be) public.

The weird thing to me is that it seems nobody's disputing the claim, as this was a "science evolve everyday" proof. Yes, everyday some new evidence are found that shake/modify our understanding of the world, but this particular story? A lie. Or at least a really controversial take. It basically said that some climate scientists believed that the earth wouldn't warm due to human activities like other believed. The consensus was still building.

But even then, no climate scientists thought human activities had no impact.

And anybody who propagate this story either is part of this group of people who 'share' without thinking (but on hacker news it's quite hard to publish without writing, thus thinking), or is a liar with an agenda. That's why I ask for scientific article every time, i know none exist because this is a hoax, and usually the liar leave the discussion.