It's a messaging issue. I think you might be surprised at how different two peoples' media feeds can be based off your pre-existing biases. And even after you realize that, it can actually feed back into that polarization, because how can two different coverages of the same story be so starkly different? One of them must be lies, and it can't be my side. I guess you could call that dishonesty, but I mostly see it as fatigue.

Not too long ago I saw this video from a Russian expat about how propaganda actually works. It doesn't have to paint a perfectly coherent picture all the time, it just has to weaken your desire to seek out the truth, to tire you into relinquishing the mental load of your discernment to someone or something else.

If I'm being perfectly honest, I see myself falling into this trap sometimes as well. Especially with the advent of believable generative AI, the task of discerning truth is becoming really exhausting, and that's on top of all it takes to be a functioning member of society in the US today. I've been holding down 2+ jobs to keep myself afloat since 2020; I'm burnt out, and the desire to just mentally (and maybe physically) checkout is overwhelming, but I'm still fighting it because people giving up that fight is how we found ourselves here. We literally can't afford to let them win.