@melanie even on a purely instrumental, power basis (for good or for ill), it’s only effective over time if its credibility can be sustained. lots of lies have girded populations for wars (“remember the maine!”), but cycles of contestation happen much faster and more openly now. if effectively debunked, it can have the opposite instrumental effect from what was intended. 1/

@melanie apparently the Jerusalem Post is now claiming to confirm the story, though they seem to be conflating burning of corpses with decapitation. the story could prove true after all, or the conflation might work to make it true enough to not be discrediting of the broader story. regardless, running it loudly before there was evidence more than one man’s claim was foolish and potentially counterproductive. /fin