As my wife and I were talking about this, one thing that came to mind was the Chernobyl disaster, which both of us saw on TV as kids when it unfolded. The CPSU

As my wife and I were talking about this, one thing that came to mind was the Chernobyl disaster, which both of us saw on TV as kids when it unfolded. The CPSU also initially attempted to sweep it under the rug, and for about 3 days you could only find out about it from e.g. Voice of America broadcasts (which people would get on shortwave radio in regions which weren't covered by jamming). After a few days it became clear even to the party bosses that this is not an ordinary disaster, and it can't be swept under the rug entirely, so we got some reporting from the site of the disaster, mixed with a heavy dose of propaganda. They'd show trucks, workers, views of the reactor from a helicopter (which was probably getting a bunch of radioactive dust in the air), speak of heroism of those who tried to douse the fires in spite radiation and later died of radiation poisoning, stuff like that. What they did not do, however, is make any attempt at explaining the magnitude of the disaster, so while the populace was pacified by "reporting" we didn't really know its true effects until many years later.