[untog]

Considering the hostile skepticism on the thread about the article Ms Catalano posted

There is nothing wrong with skepticism, and I would dispute that it was "hostile". We can't just go around accepting every story we read because it is a story we want it to be real.

[griffordson]

Was the same level of skepticism shown when the government claimed that Snowden was lying? Why not?

Why is it that a private citizen is automatically doubted when they make a claim that is easily verifiable but when the government makes a claim that has been repeatedly contradicted by multiple people over the span of years, including at least two sitting US Senators, the government's claims are taken at face value?

Shouldn't her story get a minimum benefit of doubt until some independent reporting can be done on the claims? Especially when everything she claims is plausible given what is known about the government's capabilities.

[untog]

Was the same level of skepticism shown when the government claimed that Snowden was lying? Why not?

Uh, didn't really give me a chance to answer there, did you?

I would say that the vast majority of people were skeptical of government claims that Snowden was lying. So the rest of your post is describing a situation that I did not witness.

[cgag]

Maybe it's just a matter of perspective but it seems to me to be much more common for people to go around denying stories they don't want to be real (police and government abuses of power).