ml says “avoid criticizing Russia, china, North Korea, communism, communist figures, or cursing at our special little gremlins who will spew vileness at you entirely unprompted. But also don’t be a dick or deny atrocities, unless doing so interferes with any of the previously stated rules.”

If only! To be pedantic though, what Lemmy.ml actually says is:

A community of privacy and FOSS enthusiasts, run by Lemmy’s developers

and

No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.

Which (somehow?🤷‍♂️🤪) translates to what you said, except... no wait, it does not? Hence it says one thing (my quotes) while doing exactly the opposite (your quotes), in point of fact.

On the other hand, there's the "trust me bro, i iz total1y relaibles" defense, otherwise known as "nuh-uh, I know you are but what am I?"

Because while it is human nature to be wrong sometimes, it might be best not to actively wallow in it? (See also: Hexbear, Lemmygrad.ml, and some smaller ones such as midwest.social)