Everything looks like a misinformation campaign perpetrated by 'them' anymore. This well could be. It also might not be. The data could have been manipulated. It might not have been.
We do what we can with what information is offered to us. Lies, half-truths, and all.
I could think of half a dozen parties with interest and the means to push this story in either direction. It's axiomatic that a story that's been covered is of interest to anyone. The response to a story implicitly carries on that property. The specific nature of the interests involved are not always clear.
We do what we can with what information is offered to us. Lies, half-truths, and all.