That gets closer to a reasonable explanation for things — people executing those "information" campaigns were genuinely trying to make things better for people,

That gets closer to a reasonable explanation for things — people executing those "information" campaigns were genuinely trying to make things better for people, perhaps motivated by their belief that, if they didn't do so, all would be lost. It's a nice way to explain the consequence without resorting to accident or malice. Nevertheless, in the end, they way overstepped what was needed or helpful.