Not necessarily. I too have my doubts and even hope that this isn’t real, but it is always possible that singular border officers, empowered by the new definitions, take matters into their own hand. One look in Russia’s direction over the past few years and their propaganda laws, it starts with sporadic individual arrests. I visit the US on a semi-regular basis, but I think I will wait for at least a few months to see what comes of this, because even sparse arrests from bad-apple border officers are still a threat to my freedoms.

I don’t think media coverage is a very reliable gauge of truth in a society where the media is controlled by oligarchs. On top of everything that that’s been going on, a journalist just got fired for calling Elon Musk a Nazi.

It’s also pretty common for marginalized people to relate their problems secondhand because victims don’t always want the public eye on them. Yes, victims should go to the authorities, but it’s often easier said than done even when the authorities aren’t well-known for dismissing victims and/or furthering their abuse.

e: To clarify, I don’t think it’s true that what the official said is policy; I think that person is probably lying. What I mean is that the incident itself is very plausible, and I have a policy of believing victims if there isn’t a good reason not to, especially where it may protect others.

Personally, I would expect more than just a social media post. A second social media post repeating what they read in the first post shouldn’t count as evidence or confirmation.