It's not all that confusing. The science is pretty clear. The best use of masks on people in public is on the sick themselves. You can't use the standards and practices in something like a TB hospital for medical personnel in public spaces. Not only is it an inefficient use of resources, but the efficacy is in question.

You cannot expect the general population to adhere to the standards of a TB hospital. It cannot be done, even if it was a good idea. For example, standard practice is that a mask is meant to be worn for only 8 hours and that is under the assumption that you have no reason to believe you were exposed. If the mask becomes wet, damp, or if you have any reason to believe you've been exposed you're supposed to immediately doff it carefully and dispose of it. Typically PPE is used only once per exposure, or is reused for exposure to one patient at a time.

There are so many variables at play here. From the efficacy of the masks themselves, the best allocation of resources, the different varieties of masks, the techniques for proper fitting, the decontamination processes, other PPE. Does this mean masks are not useful? No. And you won't find many experts making this claim. It's clear that masks help.

Think critically about this. It is not as simple as "masks good" or "surgeon general lied." There are manifold hysterics going around -- please don't contribute to it.