Absolutely. As someone with a fair level of subject matter expertise in the area, I've spent much of the last two years disgusted with the distortions/exaggerat

Absolutely. As someone with a fair level of subject matter expertise in the area, I've spent much of the last two years disgusted with the distortions/exaggerations of the news media, to the point where I basically don't read or listen to the news anymore. Certainly nothing from the ad-driven media, which is almost universally garbage. It's the same pattern the GP describes for Russia: exaggeration of obscure, tail risks and uncertainty. If you speculate, speculate to the negative outcome and ignore the positive or neutral possibilities. Emphasize scary anecdotes and ignore or downplay any facts that would lead a reasonable person away from panic. I was regular consumer of NPR, NYTimes, WaPo, and many others. Now I just don't read or listen to them. I skim a few international providers, I have some subscriptions (i.e. paid subscriptions to news providers that don't depend on ads) and podcasts, and that's it. Covid eliminated nearly all of my "news" consumption habits.