If Bergstrom's point is that one shouldn't believe claims just because someone asserts them, then yes, that's true. But I would say that the set of assertions

If Bergstrom's point is that one shouldn't believe claims just because someone asserts them, then yes, that's true. But I would say that the set of assertions for which one is justified in rejecting them out of hand is perhaps smaller than he is suggesting. For example, there was fake news recently in which the Gates Foundation was said to be inserting subcutaneous chips into folks who had received vaccines. It turned out to be untrue, but not obviously so. The technology exists and if not abused it could be an inexpensive and effective form of record keeping.