I'm not sure this is correct always. Sure you can get much of the information for free, but not any, as you mention. And even if you did, you'd be paying for it

I'm not sure this is correct always. Sure you can get much of the information for free, but not any, as you mention. And even if you did, you'd be paying for it with your time, spending hours and days poring over data and separating facts from noise. For example: if you are an investor, can you get information on potential opportunities (stocks to buy or whatever) without having to spend money or a lot of time? What about real estate? If you or a loved one has a unusual medical condition and you're interested in knowing every recent development in the diagnosis, treatment etc of the condition, can you get it accurately and quickly for free? Happy to be proven wrong, but I guess we'd be paying for good information/commentary/analysis etc one way or other - with time or money.