What is different today is the Internet. Before that we had TV and radio, which also magnified fear, but not to the extent as the Internet where you can find the "news source" that best fits your particular fears.
I don't think it makes much, if any difference. The internet can be used to spread misinformation, but it can also be used for fact checking. So the net outcome is not that obvious. I'm curious to see some hard data on this subject.
