Even moderate levels of agricultural runoff are enough to kill mayfly eggs. The disappearance of mayflies deprives other wildlife of food.

Hollywood history is full of deliberately inserted falsehoods.

Some of these falsehoods may not specifically matter much. For instance, the fact that Churchill didn't sample public opinion in the London tube doesn't seem to me to make a significant difference for thinking about Churchill and World War II. Nor does the fact that the Germans had not yet rigged Pegasus Bridge for demolition (according to Pegasus Bridge by Stephen E Ambrose), contrary to what is shown in The Longest Day, make much difference to my understanding of the Normandy landings or the war.

However, the acceptance of small changes in history just for the sake of drama paves the way for larger changes that alter the history drastically. I've read accusations of drastic changes in movies that are "based on a true story", to the point where that phrase has come to mean "bullshit" to me.

If you want to tell a story that isn't accurate, call it "fiction".

Giving quotations of gossip, and presenting them as such, is a different matter. It isn't direct falsification, but it can mislead people if they take it as certain. Steele, in his dossier, carefully indicated what was unconfirmed hearsay. I don't know how Fire and Fury does on that scale.

The bully has made Guantanamo prison a faith-based initiative, defining "dangerous" to mean "Muslim".

Some of the prisoners are suing, claiming that this bias invalidates his decision to keep them there.

There is no excuse for imprisonment without trial. Every prisoner deserves a real, fair trial, or else to be released.

Patients are dying in UK hospitals because there are not enough doctors to treat them.

I hope they have the courage to tell the relatives, "your mother died from underfunding; Parliament is directly responsible."

It is entirely legitimate for employers, as well as you or me, to shun people for promoting right-wing bigotry at work. Damore has no valid complaint about being fired by Google for that.

Damore also claims that Google discriminates against men — citing various sorts of efforts to find more women to hire. Since men are overrepresented among Google employees, this is an issue about the proper bounds of affirmative action.

That's an issue I don't have a position about, but I won't make Damore my guide on the issue.