How do countries hide their losses during wars?

Question

I know it is normal for countries to deflate their casualty numbers during war, but how do they do it? If for example 1000 soldiers are killed in a month, how could a government claim only 400 were killed without the public discover this to be a lie? Surley the families of the killed soldiers are promptly informed.

In: Other

Answer 1

You mean a government that faces consequences for lying like a liberal democracy, where a journalist will sell their mother to get a Pulitzer roasting a local politician, or a government that doesn’t like Russia, where such journalists are forcefully motivated into alternative career choices?