It was easier to dismiss in the past because the evidence to the contrary has been largely circumstantial, of sufficiently dubious origin, or not direct enough

It was easier to dismiss in the past because the evidence to the contrary has been largely circumstantial, of sufficiently dubious origin, or not direct enough for people to accept as proof. They publicly announced a backdoor this time. They can’t un-invent the capability. You can now prove that Apple is lying about its concern for privacy by citing their own website.