I read the Britannica article, and aside from all the waffle it did say " It is clearly worth noting that governments do at least occasionally conspire against their own citizens."
That's all we are saying. So if you agree with the quote, perhaps all we are arguing about is whether the government is lying to us in this particular instance, not that they never lie.
Once you get past your irrational reaction to the term 'conspiracy theory' you may be able to explore history and find many, many examples of governments conspiring against their populations.
