According to Brown University, the rate of incidence for false accusations of sexual harassment hovers between 2 and 10%. Citations are available in the article.
So yeah, people lie, but it’s probably nowhere near what you’re thinking. Consider the shit storm that making accusations against a company like LTT unleash. For most people, it won’t be worth it. Some unknown amount of social media clout is not worth an unending stream of bile and death threats as well as the unknown effect on future employment prospects.
I understand the desire to reserve judgment, but I think whistleblowers like this should be treated with an open mind.
AFAIK, we have nothing from Madison but her word. It seems little, if anything, was written down. The best we can hope for is a denial or affirmative from anyone else at LMG about her testimony. Even then, it’s all “he said, she said”, unless there is actual corroboration or evidence.
That said, I think what we can corroborate from her is probably the managerial issues and workflow problems. That’s what I’m most confident in.
For all the rest of her testimony, the sexual harasshment and toxicity she endured, I think it’s more likely than not that she is sincere. Women in my life have endured similar treatment elsewhere, under the radar, and they often do not report it, sadly, and I don’t blame them. Anyone can lie about anything, so we have to be careful, and just accept that we may never know factually what the real story is on some of the issues.
If more employees were to speak out or some other evidence came to light, we’d have far more confidence one way or another. Maybe there will be a lawsuit between Madison and LMG and more evidence can come from that. We’ll see
Edit: looks like an independent investigation going to start. Perhaps that will corroborate more of Madison’s testimony
