"To deny something that exists, and if there is open evidence that it does exists, really has to hurt one's own credibility." --Careful with that thinking, you

"To deny something that exists, and if there is open evidence that it does exists, really has to hurt one's own credibility." --Careful with that thinking, you likely live/cameup in a somewhat free/democratic society If you talk to folks who have to live in say Russia/Putin-stan today when the government lies and everyone knows that the government knows that everyone knows they're lying it's actually a mechanism of intimidation and control. It really boils down to "we can get away with saying or doing whatever we want-- what are YOU going to do about it?" or "Your facts don't matter, your information doesn't matter, your data doesn't matter, your truth doesn't matter-- all that matters is power and we have the power and we're in charge." This strategy is a bit different from the casual/blatant general dishonesty of the current American president (it seems to be a bit of a personal tick rather than this kind of deliberate thinking) --- but it is absolutely a well-worn trick of nightmare authoritarian regimes. If you're not already familiar, check out these journalists: - julia ioffe - masha gessen If you want some provocative Chinese muck-raking, these sometimes be useful/interesting resources: - https://www.chinasmack.com/ https://www.chinasmack.com/ - http://www.chinauncensored.tv/ http://www.chinauncensored.tv/