Helldivers 2 propaganda hits a new peak as devs lie about flying bugs while players forge documents: "These traitors are working overtime to fill your heads with lies"

gamesradar.com:

The undercurrent of propaganda that shapes Helldivers 2's obnoxiously yet endearingly democratic universe has truly boiled over in the wake of conflicting, definitely real reports from the game's community and developers alike.

The straw that truly broke the camel's back was the recent discovery of new flying Terminids, the reports of which were quickly dismissed as "propaganda from bug sympathizers" by Arrowhead CEO and Helldivers 2 game director Johan Pilestedt. Community and social manager Katherine "Baskinator" Baskin echoed Pilestedt, saying: "These traitors are working overtime to fill your heads with lies, soldiers!" 

Presented with a close-up image clearly showing a flying enemy in official Helldivers 2 promotional material, Pilestedt had this to say: "Image manipulation by traitors." 

Players were quick to get in on the joke. "Those could be anything," one democratic bystander said of the flying bug footage. "Probably just swamp gas reflecting off an eagle." Pilestedt signal boosted the claim, calling the skeptical recruit "a true patriot."

But that's far from the only elephant in the room. Just today, a Super Earth news broadcast declared that Helldivers will soon "permanently contain bugs" in a local sector thanks to the Termicide deployment grid at the heart of the game's latest major order. "The Termicide is proving extremely effective, with experts saying the benefits to the local ecology far outweigh the loss of some native species," the video declares, seemingly setting up the first major permanent win in the forever war. 

But is that the whole story? And can we trust the words of flying bug deniers? The Helldivers 2 community is less certain. Exhibit A: this remarkably well-done document leaked (read: created) by Reddit user ChimkennBiskets, a trustworthy name if ever there was one: 

As you can plainly see, this extremely real confidential report shows that, contrary to today's announcement, Termicide is in fact extremely harmful, capable of