> The authoritarian elitist crowd doesn't seem to like it when the unwashed masses develop these skills; they'd prefer to have a population of brainwashed zombi

> The authoritarian elitist crowd doesn't seem to like it when the unwashed masses develop these skills; they'd prefer to have a population of brainwashed zombies who get all their propaganda from a government-provided list of 'acceptable sources' and who don't have the cognitive capacities and practical skills needed to independently test claims for veracity. While I agree with you, I don't think challenging this is wise. A large number of people lack the fundamental intellect required for critical thinking. Give them a nugget of truth (or even a total falsehood) and they will extrapolate it to the point of an entire ideology (QAnon)...because they're smarter than the rest of us idiots, see. They have critical thinking skills! Thanks to the internet anybody can appoint themselves a source of truth, which just results in chaos. A mentally-ill loudmouth can turn entire segments of the country against itself (and I'm not even taking potshots at anybody in particular). Fewer sources of information is better domestic policy for the masses. Let the critical thinkers seek out third-party sources to do their own verification. Let the masses eat from a common trough so they don't cause a stampede.