Consider how ill informed and criminally stupid the US administration is and I would suggest that people discussing things and coming to their own conclusions,

Consider how ill informed and criminally stupid the US administration is and I would suggest that people discussing things and coming to their own conclusions, while a messy process, is at least one that might reach the correct conclusion in the face of being lied to by authority figures. EDIT: As a recent example, consider the lies we were told by the administration about the effectiveness of surgical masks in preventing spread. While this lie was told in service of keeping the supply prioritized for health care workers, it caused vulnerable people to not wear them and discouraged people from wearing home made masks that might help prevent asymptomatic spread. We have only overcome this lie through public discussion and eventual acknowledgement by the CDC.