Do you think you've ever been taken in by a false Russian narrative?

[Hortensis]

17. Very possibly some time, somewhere.

Hopefully not recently, but I can't say. I assume more subtle manipulations are being targeted at people who try to keep a fair proportion of award-winning journalists and widely respected experts in the mix.

Both the NYT and AP, and others, have disseminated highly dishonest and unethical political misinformation, perhaps not on behalf of Russia, but given the enormity of the betrayal nothing's ruled out. Some may or may not have been actively conspiring, but most were probably just tacitly pulling the same direction. Nevertheless, the GOP, dark-money right wing billionaires, the FBI, the NYT, the AP, and even a Democratic Party candidate in the left and dissident parties all knew or hoped their efforts would cumulatively defeat the person who became the Democratic candidate in 2016, and for some Democrats for all offices. Tough environment for voters to pick out enemy propaganda in.

But fwiw, I was rejecting Russian propaganda in elementary school when "communism" was still being discussed as a viable option for America. Not an ounce of intellectualism to it at that point, of course. John Birch Society hysteria probably kept the subject in the air, but there was plenty of pro-Russia talk. By 8 or 9, though, I was tending to think that any nation doing as poorly as Russia, even putting up walls to keep people from leaving, and not able to turn its ideals into reality was not a model to aspire to.

I still think that simple way. Conflicting actions and results still trigger distrust and examination of stirring, high-flying rhetoric.