Accuracy of news
I can't speak about tv news in general, since the only one I occasionally watch is PBS, but most shows people watch are not news, they are opinion, Hannity, Maddow, etc. These, I believe are notoriously unreliable. The best news sources are still the major news services, NYT, WAPO, AP, BBC, etc, which actually have editors and standards, but again, one must be a critical reader.
Critical reading (or listening) is a skill that must be acquired and, unfortunately, it is not well taught in school, if taught at all. News is a competitive business, and there is always a push to be first with a story and honest mistakes frequently occur. The individual internet sites are again notoriously unreliable. Unnamed sources or unnamed high officials are always suspect. All sources and authors should always be checked for accuracy and bias.
But all this said, staying well informed can be time consuming and requires a lot of effort. Hard to find time with golf , pickleball, facebook, etc, but if democracy is to work, it is the duty of all citizens to stay informed.
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