That's simply untrue. What today we refer to as misinformation and conspiracy theory was just rumors from the traveling merchant. The most obvious examples of

That's simply untrue. What today we refer to as misinformation and conspiracy theory was just rumors from the traveling merchant. The most obvious examples of this is in ancient history how few political issues were actually campaigned on compared to today. Today every politician needs a public stance on hundreds of issues. Do you think that applied in ancient Rome or the various city states in Greece? People didn't care as much. There was less exposure to information, less granularity, and less individual empowerment. Often times what separated politicians wasn't even the issues, it was their client base and direct familial connections. Issues were a secondary consideration. Today, it doesn't matter what connections you have if you have the 'wrong' stances, even if trivial in fact (they don't have to actually believe or pursue them in office outside of token gestures) the performative dance politicians have to go through today is strikingly different than any time before. Thats directly because of homogenization of thought and how intensely voters value it.