I find this very surprising, but I suppose it could be true. Can you put some meat on the bones somehow? An anecdote or something?

Without going into subjective current event interpretation, the phenomenon is well illustrated in HBO's Chernobyl with the plant engineers and manager, or the show trial. Their discounting of material facts in favour of "the expected answer" by higher-ups is an endemic (and probably rational) strategy in response to ruthless (central plan+party politics)'d organisations.