The DAPL builders defaulted to the role of villain in her narrative. Feeling frustrated with the viciously defensive myopia and censorship, I began to research and eventually wrote an article that presented a debunking of two anti-DAPL lies.

Illusion vs. Reality

I was baffled as to how my friend qualified my accounts from locals as propaganda, and her targeted messaging from activist groups as factual.The protesters can count on public sympathy. People are drawn to the idea of civil disobedience for great causes, and this is a solid impulse. The US has a long history of accomplishing great social good this way. Idealism and sacrifice for a grand cause is a powerful storyline.

As for the big corporation building the pipeline, it cannot count on media or public support. Their very existence raises suspicions among a public that is weary of crony deals and powerful elites running roughshod over the rights of others.

There's a problem with applying that narrative to this case: namely, it does not apply. The real story is a contest between a peaceful commercial venture that is respectful of property rights and stands ready to massively upgrade the energy infrastructures and bring new prosperity vs. a coalition of interest groups that have no skin in this game but have made protesting a way of life.