https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/if-its-worth-your-time-to-l... elucidates this argument very clearly:

> People don’t like nitpickers. “He literally did the WELL AKTUALLY!” If you say Joe Criminal committed ten murders and five rapes, and I object that it was actually only six murders and two rapes, then why am I “defending” Joe Criminal?

> Because if it’s worth your time to lie, it’s worth my time to correct it.

> If one side lies to make all of their arguments sound 5% stronger, then over long enough it adds up. Unless they want to be left behind, the other side has to make all of their arguments 5% stronger too. Then there’s a new baseline - why not 10%? Why not 20%? This mechanism might sound theoretical when I describe it this way, but go to any space where corrections are discouraged, and you will see exactly this.

Damn, the racism example is really good.

What specifically is the dispute about factual accuracy at the root of this discussion?

There is no factual accuracy at all, only speculation and empty claims.

Do you have a proof that Apple has bot farms to push its narrative?

I have no proof, only personal experience interacting with commenters on HN. No other tech company gets as much positive support when exerting its soft power under the guise of (bullshit) technicalities, e.g. all the issues with EU digital markets, API restrictions, 30% tax. Specifically, people were defending Apple vehemently when they feature gated remote phone control for EU citing concerns about EUs privacy laws (???).

I never stated that I know for a fact that Apple deploys bots, but I would not be surprised. I don’t even need to know if anyone is paid or not - if I cannot distinguish paid posts from fanatic apologism, then I need not care. The resulting posts are worrying all the same.

Similarly, I do not know if Apple was caught off guard by the demand - I wouldn’t trust this article. But Apple does plan production well ahead of time and forecast demand rather precisely. They could’ve been wrong. Them being unable to produce enough 1/2tb mac studios seems like a loss to me.

Do you have proof Apple is facing unexpected demand for the Mac Mini because of AI? Do these news sites?

I am not the one making claims here.

You can’t claim A, and then when someone asks you for a proof reply with “prove that it’s not A”.