Is it really "malicious compliance" if the ask itself was stupid to begin with?

I think the title is self explanatory, but to confirm, here goes. We all know about "malicious compliance". There's often \*some\* way to misinterpret an assignment, cause others grief, and then blame it on your manager. Not recommending it, but the opportunities for it come around.

But what if the instructions are clear and the ask is for something that will almost certainly not go well. In most professional positions, it's expected that exercising your professional judgement means pushing back on occasion. But when you're in a situation that strongly discourages that, then there are really two factors in play, the stupid ask and the history of overbearing management.

So, at that point, is it really "malicious compliance" when you choose to just do what you're told because you'll be punished either way? I mean the fact that you're being asked to do something stupid to begin with means that they won't listen to you until they see the failure for themselves. You might as well spread the pain around, right?