When shaping public policy, narratives are more important than data.[1] From my observation, it seems that the procedure is to set the narrative up, make it simple, broadcast it from as many channels as possible and censor, threaten and insult people who present data that contradicts the narrative. Works really well.

"A good narrative soundly beats even the best data."

[1]https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/01/how-narratives-influe...