I am no particular fan of government, but I know a BS conspiracy theory when I see one.
How hard is it to get some ham operators to report false data? If we can fake a moon landing, certainly we could fake some pressure readings.
FWIW I checked an Elizabeth City Wunder station when the center was over it, roughly, and the reading was 28.35 inHg. That’s 960 mb. Still, the poster was speaking his informed mind on the issue, and the 950-960 does seem low for the wind speed.