Could these companies to anything _but_ outright deny it? Silence would be perceived as confirmation, and claiming to not know would be terrifying to their cus

Could these companies to anything _but_ outright deny it? Silence would be perceived as confirmation, and claiming to not know would be terrifying to their customers. Confirming it would risk their entire supply chain. Sure, maybe it's not true... but the only move here is to deny it even if it were true. The corporations involved have a massive amount to lose here.