Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it is followed by a dramatic increase in the number of suspected political scandals reported by the local press - a phenomenon that lasts anywhere from a few months to several years after the publicity given to the aftermath of actual scandals focuses attention on the suspicion of other political scandals. Consequently, officials in the county claim that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage than by an actual increase in the number of scandals.
Which of the following, if true, would seriously weaken the assertions of the government officials?
A] The publicity surrounding political scandals is largely limited to the voting region in which the original scandal occurred.
B] It has often been observed that in Pauly County the branches of government are so tightly connected that one discovered scandal usually leads to a series of other related offenses.
C] News organizations do not have any guidelines to help them decide the extent to which any given scandal warrants coverage.
D] Political scandals are reported by news organizations only when the organization is certain it will obtain a substantial increase in viewership through such coverage.
E] Studies by non-partisan political analysts suggest that the average number of genuine political scandals does not change significantly from year to year or region to region