But the problem is partly "Us". We're gonna have to do more work to be informed than ever before. It's not like fact checking sites and sources don't exist. TV journalism is a unique beast which feeds on sensationalism and ratings more intensely than other forms of media. And you've got voters who don't care. Policy means very little to many voters. Some even scoff at checking out fact checking sites ( Sure, they may get something wrong now and then, but generally they get things right). In 2016, I encountered many, both on the left and right, claiming that Snopes was biased - which was a lie pooped out of the bowels of brietbart.
The "Media" is also a vast eco system of various entities. Editorial boards, tv producers are comprised of human beings who fall victim to cognitive biases. And they develop a schema about politics which they infuse into events. Before Bush , there was fawning over Reagan, so much so the corruption in his administration didn't hit his popularity ratings much. Compare and contrast the corruption under Reagan with Clinton's impeachment proceedings. And there are too many examples from 2016 to show how these biases functioned as pre-emptive propaganda, helping disinformation efforts from America's rivals.
I give the "Media" a *bit* of a pass regarding Iraq because the focus needs to be on the vast and sophisticated project Cheney and Rumsfeld devised to deceive. Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were behind the Office of Special Plans, and Cheney got rid of red teams, ignored the advice of the two top Iraqi Experts, and relied instead on inexperienced analysts he could depend on to cook up reasons for Invasion. Many fell for this deception, it was hard not to. Criticizing the war got you labeled a traitor and an anti-American who hates those sacrificing their lives for "Freedom". General Shinseki came under the cross hairs of Rumsfeld when he dared challenge the Bush administration on their assumptions or how long the war would last and the resources needed. Now we know Shinseki was right. Also, Bush's language of terror was effective due to a public angered and galvanized after 9/11, a public primed to accept any explanation for 9/11 and exact vengeance. The media fell for it, the Senate fell for it.
And now we have the insidiousness of bothsidism. The idea that all opinions are worth hearing out and are of equal merit and should be equally platformed for the sake of "fairness". Some opinions are not even worthy of debate yet..We live in a world now where the most deplorable of opinions and absurdities are platformed. Not just in politics but in academia as well ( See Jordan Peterson) All of this in the midst of a trollish online environment where facts are constantly attacked.
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