Plot hole: After Richards goes back to his brother's apartment, he is somehow able to shower, shave off his beard and change his clothes despite the fact that the apartment is now occupied by a woman living by herself who would not have any reason to have men's clothes or male grooming products there.
Plot hole: In the unedited video footage of the helicopter incident shown to the crowd, the last shot of Arnie getting knocked out is seen from his perspective and as such could never have been filmed by any camera.
Gavin JacksonPlot hole: When Richards' turbo sled goes through the tunnel along with Weiss' and Laughlin's, the video monitors show all three sleds are traveling through the same tunnel. Richards' sled comes out of the tunnel first, but with the speed the sleds were going and all three in the same tunnel, there wouldn't have been enough time for Richards to be pulled out, and Laughlin would have come out so fast it would have crashed into Richards, ending his running before it even started.
Plot hole: There is no reason for the prison guards to use portable computers in full view of the inmates to input the sonic deadline code. The guards can walk outside of the deadline whenever they need to input the code, or radio the guard on the outside to lower and raise the deadline like they do when bringing the workers out. In fact, this plot hole is compounded by the presence of the guards stationed outside of the deadline with their own computer, which makes the guard inside the deadline completely unnecessary. The interior guard is only there so Weiss has a way to get both the code and a computer, but this prison set-up makes absolutely no sense.
BaconIsMyBFF
Answer: They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame. The government controlled the people through violence, but at the same time tried to convince the people the government was fair (i.e. Runners who made it through were given their freedom when in fact they never left the arena alive). The people at Bakersfield were still massacred (that part wasn't made up) by the government in order to control the riot, but just not by Ben. But people would just riot more if they knew the government ordered their killing, so the footage was faked to make people think Ben acted alone and against orders. And to continue the ruse, they convicted him to appease the people and prevent them from rioting.
Bishop73