Every time I hear someone claim 'I just don't trust the news in general' it makes me weep. Not only have we failed at imparting basic critical thinking for people to make informed decisions as to the validity of various news pieces, it also just confirms that as you mentioned the propagandists are winning.
If you claim all news sources are fake news, then the only winner in that race to the bottom are the ones making actual fake content.
Trust != assumed validity. It simply means I do think critically and do my research before trusting non-primary sources of information.
And weep all you want, I'd rather people question the news then blindly accept everything they're fed on TV and in the papers. The news cycles have become extremely sensationalized.
> I'd rather people question the news then blindly accept everything they're fed on TV and in the papers
That's fair. But it isn't what you're claiming to be doing. You're saying you blindly disbelieve everything unless a friend vouches for it. That is neither critical thinking nor rational thought--it's unquestioning faith in social proof [1].
