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"The death toll is catastrophic. We must bow to their wishes. You must contact me!"

Obi-wan and Qui-gon identify, with some confidence, that Sio Bibble's message to Amidala is a trick to get her to make contact with Naboo so that she can be traced. They do seem much less sure about the content of the transmission;

OBI-WAN: What if it is true and the people are dying?

QUI-GON: Either way, we're running out of time.

Was the death toll on Naboo actually catastrophic? Or was the entire transmission entirely false?

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The transmission itself was fake as Darth Maul created it from scratch to trick the Queen so he could establish a trace. This is made clear in the, now Legends, novel The Wrath of Darth Maul.

Sio Bibble, the governor of Naboo and chair of the Naboo Royal Advisory Council, was among the many citizens captured by the Neimoidians during the invasion of Naboo. Maul scavenged holographic datatapes to replicate Sio Bibble’s likeness and voice and created a fragmented message from the white-haired, bearded governor. Reviewing the message, Maul watched Bibble’s simulated likeness say urgently, “… cut off all food supplies until you return. The death toll is catastrophic. We must bow to their wishes. You must contact me.”

Maul’s plan was to transmit the message and establish a connection trace to pinpoint the location of Queen Amidala’s starship. He routed the transmission so it would appear to originate from the Royal Palace on Naboo. And then he waited.

The Wrath of Darth Maul

Again like in my answer to the other related question the also now Legends novel Darth Plagueis backs this up:

The invasion and occupation of Naboo were proceeding on schedule, and the swamps were being searched in an effort to locate and isolate the principal underwater habitats of the planet’s indigenous Gungans, before they could pose a threat. But the two Jedi, Queen Amidala, and her retinue of body doubles and guards had succeeded in blasting their way through the blockade. With Maul’s help, counterfeit messages from the Queen’s adviser Sio Bibble had been transmitted to the missing starship, and one transmission had returned a faint connection trace to the Hutt-owned world of Tatooine. On learning as much, Plagueis had considered asking Jabba to apprehend the Queen, but not for long, out of concern for what the dark side might demand of him in return.

Darth Plagueis

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    "On learning as much, Plagueis had considered asking Jabba to apprehend the Queen, but not for long, out of concern for what the dark side might demand of him in return." I'm confused why Plagueis is concerned about what the dark side would demand of him. Commented Jul 12, 2021 at 18:20

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