It's not meant to fool you. It's meant to make it harder to object and report on. If they say, "you can't go there," that opens avenues of progress. You can say

It's not meant to fool you. It's meant to make it harder to object and report on. If they say, "you can't go there," that opens avenues of progress. You can say "great, show me the rule" or write a story about how the military forbid them from going to see. But if "the road melted," you can only comply or accuse them of being liars, and you can only write a story that says "their excuse was dubious." It also allows the reporter a face-saving out if they wish to take it. Nobody ever believes there is a melted road or is meant to believe it.