There are too much information these days. We literally don't have enough time to fact-check everything and therefor we pick the most believable version of a story and with that new info we shape our future selves.
"But you don't have to pick a side, just ignore this information altogether."
For most minor info this strategy works, but when the same piece of info appears repetitively over and over again you start to believe it subconsciously or it moves from "minor" to "major/important info" group which we can't simply ignore.
I don't see why repetition requires one to arbitrarily pick a side, why can't one hold a position of undecided indefinitely? Almost no one seems to do that of course, but is there a good reason you see why people couldn't do it if we made a genuine societal effort to educate people on how to read the news critically?
> I wish people still lived by the idiom "Don't believe everything you read"
When did they ever?
> It's like social media stopped all forms of critical thinking in society.
Human society as a whole is irrational and does not engage in critical thinking. Small groups of highly focused individuals, or individuals themselves sometimes can, but it takes too much effort most of the time.
II remember as a youngster in the early 00's our teachers and librarians constantly reminded students, "Don't believe anything you read on the internet. Always check your references."
This was an inherent precursor when using the early internet, and is even more relevant today.
We trust our friends and family, our tribe. Something shared on Facebook by an uncle is more trusted than a maliciously researched article on the New York Times.
