> I'm not disputing that institutions carefully use the passive voice to clean their prose of negative connotations...but the two examples you mention are not

> I'm not disputing that institutions carefully use the passive voice to clean their prose of negative connotations...but the two examples you mention are not "lies" Clippy says: "Hey, it looks like you're trying to start a semantic argument! Can I help with that?" > I've seen the "bags are subject to search" phrase many times, including the public library. I cannot remember the last time my bag was searched, even at the airport when the search is differentiated from the usual scan. So that phrase is definitely not a cover-up for "We will" Congratulations on being middle class and white. > There are many cases where there is a shootout involving police and the cause of the suspect's death is ultimately determined as suicide. So the "A shooting involving..." phrase is perfectly acceptable in a breaking news update when no determination has yet been made. There are many cases where this isn't the case, too.