[dragonwriter]

> This indicates the dramatic damage done to news organisations when they have been caught in egregious lies and falsehoods

No, it mostly reflects the rise of ideological tribalism supported by the rise of a diverse array of media outlets catering to (and reinforcing) preconceived biases (some originally driven by propaganda interests, but more driven by the business desire to capture a distinct demographic market for advertising; in the end, the interests overlap and coexist.)

[watwut]

It is not just that. You do not need to made new outright lies in order to cater to preconceived biases. But, that is literally what is happening and was happening for years. It reflects also the fact political actors figured out that cynical insertion of massive lies is good for them and thus doing it.

Just catering to preconceived biases leads to basically good faith bias with a bit of manipulation. The current situation is well beyond that.