Well-meaning manipulation of the public is common, and nearly always a terrible idea, because even the relatively uneducated are still pretty good at applying their intuition and seeing that a narrrative doesn't make sense.

Once they've damaged that trust, you end up with these 2 equally stupid polarized positions:

A: "I will do the opposite of whatever the established authorities say"

B: "It's, like, sad that, like, some people don't Science"