I hadn't considered that angle. Information warfare.
It makes a lot of sense. They can feign that they didn't know, because the lie continues, and perpetuates as more people see it.
Then if it's not true, they can just do the newspaper equivalent of writing the 'oops, we didn't know' on page 16 a few months later where no one will see it. And the lie can continue. But by then it will have sat as true in the minds of many, so the lie becomes the truth.
I hadn't considered that angle. Information warfare.
It makes a lot of sense. They can feign that they didn't know, because the lie continues, and perpetuates as more people see it.
Then if it's not true, they can just do the newspaper equivalent of writing the 'oops, we didn't know' on page 16 a few months later where no one will see it. And the lie can continue. But by then it will have sat as true in the minds of many, so the lie becomes the truth.
Clever, if diabolical.