This paragraph seems strange to me. Wouldn’t the one who shines light on a plan to kill the autocrat be highly rewarded? Googling the “vacuum effect” doesn’t yield results that explain this effect further.
Other than that, interesting read, the distortion of information the autocrat receives seems logical.
Or tortured to death to squeeze out every last tidbit they know about the plot. Loyalty is not always rewarded.
It is a common tactic of autocrats to sow a community of pathological paranoia and distrust; I've read accounts of figures ranging from Toussaint to Franco to Stalin all playing a similar game -- you tell the dictator about some corruption or plot, and they tell the person you were informing on. I think it's more fun for them that way. In any case in that sort of environment it's not hard to imagine keeping quiet about a plot to off the boss, even if you kinda like the boss.
Maybe, but I’m sure in Russia at least, people remember the Stalin years. Getting rewarded might mean getting into a position where Stalin might someday perceive you as a threat.