We all personally believe that we are not susceptible to propaganda, but China is evidence that this is simply not true.

Possibly there is some CCP internal rift here.

Maybe it's like when in the U.S. a President might have some ability to cut off Federal funding for a specific state, using a "legit" justification but underneath the real reasons might to punish the leaders of that state for their opposition or for some other reason.

I don't know shit about fuck but maybe it is something like Beijing wanted to nail Shanghai leaders for something but their actions against them might not work politically, so instead they lock down the city for "zero covid", forcing economic harm on those they wanted to harm (e.g., large property owners whose tenants will now not be able to afford to pay rent).