I think the simplest explanation is that the conservative right now views literally every issue as a them-versus-us issue, and as soon as it was clear that "they" thought we should wear masks, a very predictable conservative backlash occurred. I'm not sure if the president helped launch this particular battle in the "culture war" or was just a cheerleader as usual.
Do your own Googling next time.
My question was rhetorical. I know it's not true. I hoped you would look it up and realize your comment was inaccurate.
Their election interference was so wildly successful that they'd have no reason not be trying to inflict further damage on the US now.
To quell your conspiratorial concerns about 'masks' you need only visit most of the rest of the world and find out, particularly in close-quarters E. Asian countries, they've been doing it for some time.
Nobody is suggesting they are perfect, the messaging has been mixed, and we're not exactly sure of their efficiency, all of those things are allowed when supporting a 'pro mask' policy.
America has been losing the battle against COVID while E. Asian countries have been doing very well, and most of the rest of the world is doing 'OK' - popular US debate is the most ridiculous, least credible place for facts.
The CDC has some integrity, but this is a global phenom and literally everywhere else with integrity is taking this seriously.
People are not bing 'lied to' about masks, they're getting mixed messages because the issue is inherently grey.
The US government reversed itself on masks and recommended them before the rest of the English-speaking world. The WHO only endorsed masks a few weeks ago. I don't like Trump, but these are facts.
It seems to have been politicized after Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic, and didn't wear a mask, and then Trump was then pushed on the issue, and reacted characteristically. If Pence had set a good example and worn a mask, or of there hadn't been a huge uproar about him not wearing a mask, would the issue have turned into a front in the culture war?
That's not facts, that's spin. From your phrasing, it sounds like you're saying that prior to a "few weeks ago" that the WHO policy was somehow anti-mask. It wasn't, even in January. Their policy was always that PPE should be reserved for health care workers due to scarcity, and in a few (A FEW) instances their wording of that recommendation was poor and might plausibly imply that masks don't work.
No expert ever interpreted the WHO policy the way you people insist on doing. And at this point this insistence is just pathological.
Until Zeynep Tufekci's New York Times oped, the consensus was indeed that "masks don't work" for Covid. I documented numerous instances on social media of healthcare professionals insulting and belittling those who wore masks based on what you describe as "poor wording".
Here is a Time article from 4 March that sums up the expert consensus on masks at that point (in fact it has direct quotes from experts, including an infectious diseases professor, a leading psychologist, and the Surgeon General): that masking was "superstitious", didn't work and claiming that wearing a a mask equated to knocking on wood, or not walking under a ladder. https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/
The article points out that contrarians, often conservative, promoted mask wearing until the US government reversed its position and said that masks do work.
Suddenly, anti-lockdown protests, conspiracy theories and mask objecting started happening, and mask wearing became politically polarizing. It would be interesting to see where these people get their information from...one suspects that the answer will be skewed heavily toward social media.