Don't underestimate people's ability to think for themselves. You're citing a period in history when the flow of information came from only a few spigots. That is not true today.

For instance, I watched 60 Minutes last night because they did a segment on the Chinese incursion into the American biomedical industry and how it benefits them. At the end of the show they did a follow up of a previous story about Putin opponent Alexy Navalny who was poisoned then imprisoned.

Leslie Stahl ended the segment in her most smarmy tone, 'On President Biden's first day in office, he contacted Putin and grilled him about Navalny, which, by the way, was never done by the previous president.'

Ten years ago that would have drawn head shaking condemnation by the most ardent Republican. Nowadays? It draws head shaking disbelief at the obvious media bias because people are wide awake to the distortions being fed to them. Fake news is real. The knowledge that the Fourth Estate has been corrupted is fully accepted by all.

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