I just want to point out that you're skeptical of this author and publication because of their politics, but also you're taking the article at face value as a f

I just want to point out that you're skeptical of this author and publication because of their politics, but also you're taking the article at face value as a full and complete description of the situation. If _you_ didn't do any research and just decided the situation validated your priors, why is it surprising that locals do the same thing?