My bet is that this is probably not a false flag operation, because it would be too risky if the complicated plan fails. [...] strong evidence in my eyes to overcome the priors
There are plenty of book authors who do these kinds of things. Ryan Holiday describes in Trust Me I’m Lying that he did false flag attacks to promote Tucker Max and others. The idea that it’s benefitial PR to do these things is out of the open.
If the letter succeeds, it would drive home the point that showing your opponents to be factually wrong, or even transparently lying, is not going to save you.
It would be possible to claim that the letter is a Sokal type stunt in case the letter actually succeeds.
There are plenty of book authors who do these kinds of things. Ryan Holiday describes in Trust Me I’m Lying that he did false flag attacks to promote Tucker Max and others. The idea that it’s benefitial PR to do these things is out of the open.
It would be possible to claim that the letter is a Sokal type stunt in case the letter actually succeeds.