[papertyger]

“Taking the info at face value” was the key part. It makes your three paragraphs after that pretty meaningless.

No, it doesn't, because there is more than enough reason to believe "taking the info at face value" is itself a duplicitous tactic.

[IrishCatholic]

No it doesn’t. It simply means the information available was used, not your personal bias.
Change the info, change the outcome. So the paragraphs remain meaningless.