That was not US propaganda working, that was a backlash at Soviet propaganda.

Precisely. That is why I say our propaganda machine had to be envied by the Soviet propaganda machine. Back then, Muricans would believe anything bad, no matter how ridiculous, about the Soviet Union. That was never the case in the Soviet Union. Indeed, the Russians I met would not believe anything written in Pravda that was bad about the US - even if it were true.