Meaning of “DaihoneiHappyou(大本営発表)”

“DaihoneiHappyou(大本営発表)” means “information released by the government or influential figures that is self-serving and not trustworthy.”
“Daihonei(大本営)” means the supreme command during wartime and “happyou(発表)” means announcement.

Originally, it pertains to the official war situation reports made by the Japanese Imperial Headquarters during wartime. It is known for repeatedly issuing false statements suggesting a favorable war situation despite the worsening conditions. It has become a symbol of the military’s arrogance and deceit.

Recently, I’ve been frequently coming across this term on the internet. This is because nowadays, we feel, both the government and major media are perceived as unreliable, and they are twisting facts to suit their own purposes in their announcements, in my opinion.

Example Conversation

A: There’s been a lot of news about health problems caused by Company K’s products lately.
B: Yeah. And yet, the mass media completely ignore the issues with XXXX.
A: True. Despite there being several cases officially recognized as deaths caused by XXXX. They definitely won’t air that on the news.
B: It’s because they’ve been promoting ‘safety’ in their “DaihoneiHappyou(大本営発表)”

A: 最近C社製品による健康被害ニュースが多いね。
B: ね。そのくせXXXXの問題には一切触れないんだよね
A: それな、XXXXが原因で亡くなったって認定されている人も複数いるのにね。絶対ニュースで流さないよね。
B: 大本営発表で「安心」で進めてたからね。

*I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I do think that mass media, using public airwaves, should distribute information equally.