It's the emperor's new clothes technique - old as storytelling.
Nailed it. It’s part of a tactic to show the level of control over the populace by the Elites. The ability to spout flat-out contradictions to any observable fact, and not be questioned, demonstrates their level of control. Of course where this goes off the rails and results in mass death is when Elites begin to believe their own B.S. and think they have achieved godhood; by stating something, it makes it so.