Without further context, there are two possible interpretations. Neither of these changes the word order; that is correct in either case. The first option is that some evidence is being used as news accounts. This seems strange to me, because news accounts are not used to support academic conclusions. However, they can influence public relations, so perhaps this is the meaning. I believe that the second interpretation is more likely, but this phrasing is complex and it took me a minute to understand it. The word "as" in this context means "like." The complaint is that the person is using news accounts, and other similarly dubious sources, as if they are evidence. The "as" shows that not only news accounts, but also other things, are part of the supposed evidence.

No.

Hello Skylar. No, the word order is correct. "Such" clarifies which evidence is being used as news accounts. If the wording were reversed, then the implication would be that the team used news accounts as evidence as opposed to using the aforementioned evidence as news accounts. Hope this helps.