I mean xi is basically just "she" but with your tongue moved forward, same as the Japanese し. It's not really hard to learn, but pinyin is non-obvious to English speakers and it's totally understandable that people would just guess at how to pronounce a leading x. I would never expect good or even partially acceptable Chinese pronunciation from people who don't speak any Chinese.

But if you don't know that xin is closer to "shin" or "sheen" than "jing" you've pretty clearly never heard a Chinese person say it. In which case I have no idea why you're doing reporting on it, or why I'm supposed to take you as an authority on it.