[save_ferris]

It’s not that more disease and death is desired by one side, rather there’s political momentum behind not believing that it’s as severe as it’s being reported.

We no longer live in a world with shared truths, and this is the most remarkable manifestation of this new reality.

[pjc50]

I'm reminded of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize. It's difficult to report even a very high number of deaths in a saturated disinformation environment.

[commandlinefan]

> the 1932 Pulitzer Prize

Ok, I googled it and I still don't get it... are you talking about the cartoon?

[pjc50]

https://www.pulitzer.org/news/statement-walter-duranty

Duranty got the prize for being one of a very small number of Western journalists allowed into Stalin's Soviet Union, and writing about a visit to Ukraine.

He made no mention of the mass famine ongoing at the time, the Holomodor. Wikipedia lists the death toll as "3 to 12 million", because it was a totalitarian state and real measurement was impossible.

So the answer to "is it possible for millions to die and it simply not be reported at the time" is "yes".