[jjoonathan]

Danger.

Yes, it degrades trust, but no, this does not result in enlightenment. It results in a depoliticized populace that let the rulers get away with almost anything. See: Russia. Domestic Russian propaganda isn't designed to be believable, it's designed to make people lose trust in everything and cynically withdraw from politics, turning democracy into dictatorship.

See also: terrorism. It does not "shake society awake," it sends society running towards the nearest strong-man archetype that promises safety, which is the exact opposite of "awake."