The fact that Sony has made a number of bad PR moves aren't unfounded rumours, People spin off and discuss the information they have access to. This industry is full of this type of talk because it's uniquely secretive, it's not a conspiracy and has always been this way.
Sony did increase the price off all their first party titles, they did announce the closure of psp, vita and ps3 stores, they did axe the majority of japan studio, they did move SIE headquarters to California, they have made real moves to de emphasise their focus on the Japanese market and that legacy. There are obvious signs of a power struggle, yoshida was demoted, Shawn Layden did quit under strange circumstances, Jim Ryan has made tone deaf statements in the past, they have stated their aims about big budget games multiple times and they are in contradiction with prior managements statements. These are verifiable points of information that have not gone unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has made almost the exact opposite moves, they have gone from don mattrick to a guy who actually understands games, they have made a number of pro consumer moves aimed at retaining their legacy and have begun to invest in Japanese and lower budget game studios where Sony have only paid lip service that runs counter to their actions. It is no wonder people are plotting the journey of these two companies and contrast is always impossible to ignore. Before this recent explosion of possibly bullshit insider information there was real reason to be concerned about Sony and optimistic about Xbox. This narrative has been building for many years, the sudden flip in perception is entirely unsurprising for anyone who was paying attention.
That being said, until we see a line up of games only one thing is certain, Sony has really shitty PR.