> First - even if my example is wrong (and I don't think it is) you're missing the point on what propaganda is and why it is used. COVID is just an anecdote.

No I’m not missing the point. I understand how propaganda works. Using something that is incorrect to make a point doesn’t make it not important that it was incorrect.

> Our medical staff have absolutely been wearing masks since day 1. Why? Because obviously we knew they helped in some manner.

Saying “trained personnel in a specific high risk environment do X, therefore X is helpful and appropriate in drastically different situations” is not good reasoning.

Race car drivers use 5 point harnesses and helmets. We know they help in those high speed crashes. But it wouldn’t being lying if the head of the National Highway Safety Administration said “There’s no reason to be going out and buying racing seats for your car. When you’re in the middle of the highway, wearing a harness might make people feel a little bit better and it might even protect better in a crash, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the straps and may wear them incorrectly.”.

> "Masks can possibly help, but not as much as you think, so wear one if you want, but don't believe that this will protect you to the point of taking other, risky behaviours" But he didn't say that. He literally said: "There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask".

You are literally cutting out everything he said that you just talked about being important and using a single sentence to try and completely twist the message. He said “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face.” His very next line acknowledges that it can provide some protection. That is not lying. That is not propaganda.

> Asian countries wear masks and have 'done well' very early in the game and have been begging us to mandate masks… We obviously would err on the side of caution and worn masks were it not for the shortage.

They have a culture of sick people or people that think they are sick wearing masks, which is how those masks provide protection. And they did better because of overall better management of the pandemic, of which mask wearing was a part. Lockdowns, quickly developing testing kits and aggressively testing, extensive tracing efforts, targeted quarantining, among other measures were how they did well. This report by the Center For Strategic & International Studies [1] written in April about the southeast Asian response doesn’t even list mask wear as one of the reasons for their early success.

< We knew masks could help, but we were more worried about shortages, that was the impetus for the public communications, as an example of 'propaganda'.

That is not what propaganda is. Propaganda is misleading people or outright lying to people to push an agenda. He never mislead people. He didn’t lie. He didn’t mislead. He never made false statements about how masks work. He never lied to hide that mask shortages were an issue. In what world is it wrong to say “we have a limited resource to deal with this problem. I advise people not to use this resource right now in a way that is largely ineffective so that we can use it in ways that are very effective”. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. That is the opposite of propaganda. That is the opposite of an “inexcusable mistake”. That is clearly laying out the situation and making a recommendation. How could it be clearer than.

1. We have a limited supply of masks

2. Masks are very effective at stopping the spread for healthcare workers

3. Masks are not very effective at stopping people from becoming infected out in the regular world

4. I advise people not use this resource in a wasteful and largely ineffective manner so we can have as much as possible to use in an effective manner.

5. We will continue to update this guidance as the situation changes. If mask levels increase, we may change the guidance. [2]

Propaganda is lying to the public to get a desired outcome. Guidance is advising the public what you believe is the best way to handle a situation based on all the evidence.

[1] https://www.csis.org/analysis/strengths-and-vulnerabilities-...

[2] https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/31/fauci-mask-recommen...