> I didn't mean it... Saying things you don't mean might be why people on reddit accused you of being a troll or a liar. I don't have proof, but it seems like

> I didn't mean it... Saying things you don't mean might be why people on reddit accused you of being a troll or a liar. I don't have proof, but it seems like a good place to start. > It's an internet comment not a journal article. "It's the internet so I can say whatever I want regardless of facts" is not a mindset conducive to meaningful conversation. I'm guessing again that it might be why the people on reddit dismissed you. You might not think that this is important, but, speaking to your complaint that outlets "give this impression that dissent arrises only from ignorance, and I must be some evil, Mr Burns-esque robber baron", it seems pertinent that the available interpretations for people encountering what you said are that either you didn't know that the real number was far lower than what you said or you knew and were intentionally misrepresenting things.