This would be more concerning if the public was actually well informed currently. At present, most media companies have wildly lowered their content standards,

This would be more concerning if the public was actually well informed currently. At present, most media companies have wildly lowered their content standards, normalized clickbait titles that sometimes outright lie, all the while ramping up "it's an op-ed so it's not a lie it's just an opinion!" pieces. At the same time we've never been more interested in what government agencies have to say including what they have to say about the government itself. This world of a semi-informed populace doesn't exist, the public is already choosing information from sources that appeal to their emotions rather than logic. What person on the street actually has a nuanced understanding of an industry they're not participating in? How many have any real idea what government contractor work actually looks like in those same industries or understands what the warzones their government operates in are actually like? Most don't even understand other cultures that vaguely resemble their own, just look at how few westerners have the vaguest understanding of sex culture across asia. The only thing people know anymore is memes and rhetorical factoids. You can't poison a toxic well.