From time to time, the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over

Question

From time to time, the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over the use of false or misleading information by the U.S. government in support of its policies and programs. No one endorses needless deception. But consider this historical analogy. It is known that Christopher Columbus, on his first voyage to the New World, deliberately falsified the log to show a shorter sailing distance for each day out than the ships had actually traveled. In this way, Columbus was able to convince his skeptical sailors that they had not sailed past the point at which they expected to find the shores of India. Without this deception, Columbus’s sailors might well have mutinied, and the New World might never have been discovered.

The author of the passage above assumes each of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Government deception of the press is often motivated by worthy objectives.
(B) Without government deception, popular support for worthwhile government policies and programs might well fade.
(C) Attacks on the government by the press are often politically motivated.
(D) Deception for deception’s sake should not be condoned.
(E) A greater good may sometimes require acceptance of a lesser evil.

AndrewN · Accepted Answer

Hello, everyone. I am writing in response to a request from  Emeraldle , but I see a question above from another member as well, so I thought I would take the time to share my thoughts, in hopes of benefiting the community. Keep in mind, we are dealing with an  EXCEPT  question, so we are looking for an out-and-out  wrong  answer. This question also adopts an  assumption  framework, so we need to find an answer choice that would  not  have to be assumed by the author of the passage. I typically break down a passage line by line, but I think I will incorporate more of the passage in my analyses below to  disprove  or disqualify four of the five answer choices. How about we start from the top?
 
Analysis: Keep in mind, we are looking for an exception among  reasonable  assumptions. Does the author assume that the government deceives the press on purpose but does so for a  worthy  cause? The first two lines and the analogy that follows support this notion. Line 1 tells us that, straightened out,  the U.S. government   false or misleading information in support of its policies and programs . We understand, however, that such action is not  needless deception  (line 2), since the analogy reveals that Christopher Columbus deceived his  skeptical  crew and averted a potential mutiny, thereby allowing the mission to succeed, even if the discovery of the New World, rather than India, was happenstance. If the author has asked us to  consider this historical analogy , then the  why  behind the analogy supports making the assumption in this answer choice. Presumably, the government, like Columbus before, has  worthy objectives . This is NOT what we are after.  Red light.

Analysis: We have to read into the analogy a bit more here, but latching onto the keywords  without  and  might well  helps us get to the bottom of the matter. The passage explicitly states in the final line that  without this deception, Columbus's sailors might well have mutinied . Of course, a mutiny would indicate a  lack  of  popular support , and again, if we are to ask ourselves why the author of the passage turns to this analogy to illustrate a point, then we can only conclude that this answer choice  is  a valid assumption. Keep looking.  Red light.

Analysis: Line 1 of the passage indicates that  the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over the use of false or misleading information by the U.S. government . There is no  political  motivation to be gleaned  on behalf of the press . To my eye, the press is angry that the government has misled its own citizens, nothing more. Thus, we do NOT have to assume that  the author of the passage above assumes  this answer choice, and that fits an EXCEPT condition. Make sure you read the question stem carefully.  Green light.

Analysis: Yes, the passage states in line 2 that  no one endorses needless deception , but if anything, the similarity between that statement and this answer choice underscores the notion that, once again,  the author of the passage above assumes  that deception for its own sake is condemnable or should not be  condoned  or  endorsed . Others might disagree, but not the author of the passage. This  is  an assumption the author makes about the action of deception, and that is not what we are after.  Red light.

Analysis: This is a nice summary of the analogy. Columbus deceived his crew, but it was so that they might remain obedient to his command, and the result was the discovery of the New World. Likewise, the U.S. government might deliberately deceive its citizens, but, to lift some of the language of an earlier answer choice, it is for a  worthy  end. If the author of the passage did  not  make this assumption, then there would be no point to the analogy. Thus, this answer choice does not meet the EXCEPT condition.  Red light.

I think that sometimes people approach these questions too quickly, without considering what,  exactly , the question is asking. There is simply no justification in the passage to support (C), and that is what we have been tasked to find. Of course, if anyone feels differently, please share your thoughts in an effort to help the community (i.e. serve the greater good).

Thank you, and good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

Bunuel · Answer

Twin question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/from-time-to ... 45071.html

exliontamer · Answer

Can an expert chime in about the quality of this question? Option D basically reiterates a premise in the paragraph ("No one endorses needless deception"). This does not seem like an assumption to me; in fact, it seems like a classic restatement of the premise that is used to trap test takers up in other CR problems?

Emeraldle · Answer

The answer D seems like a correct answer cuz in the paragraph mentioned the fact that "no one endorses needless deception", so why the OA is C?

Dungavath · Answer

Though I have made it correct, still confused. Kindly explain.

hydr01 · Answer

I think this question is not a good quality question. The reason why I didn't choose C is because the first line says "the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over the use of false or misleading information by the U.S. government in support of its policies and programs," which leads me to believe that the press executes outbursts of indignation when the U.S. government is publicly supporting its policies and programs. Therefore, the press' outbursts of indignation are directed toward the government supporting its policies/programs (politics), and whether the press' motivations are politically motivated is kind of unclear, there's a gray area there to me.

Also, the author does not have to assume A. Where in the passage does the author communicate that he believes government deception of the press is OFTEN motivated by worthy objectives? I think the author's passage could still work and be true/sound if he assumed that government deception was only SOMETIMES motivated by worthy objectives.

VerbalBot · Answer

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From time to time, the press indulges in outbursts of indignation over

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