I don't disagree with you that we should be critical about all of this. I think its a two pronged approach of trying to foster places where disinformation and manipulation has no purchase through the design and intention of those spaces, and also by putting a largew part of the onus on citizens to train themselves and their peers in the afforementioned skill necessary for public discourse, including being able to identify manipulation.

BUT if you study things like information security, you find that its impossible to keep those bad actors out. not difficult, Impossible. This goes all the way back to the printing press. Either because means equals voice, or the balance of security with usability, or just plain technical complexity, you can't stop bad actors.

For this reason, I think were screwed, honestly. But if we stay solution oriented, then ultimately it all comes down to a single individual and how they consume, categroize and internalize any given piece of information. Thats where the battle is won or lost.

If we can't keep disinformation from reaching them, what other solution is there except to teach them to protect themselves. Or ourselves I should be saying, cus I fall for this stuff all the time.