The paywalls aren't the problem. Information leaks around paywalls. The facts have always been available. You might not be able to get the primary source, but p

The paywalls aren't the problem. Information leaks around paywalls. The facts have always been available. You might not be able to get the primary source, but people are always bad about primary sources. People who want to believe disinformation have never let that stop them. If anything, a paywall suggests that somebody has put some effort into gathering that news. People peddling disinformation want to pay you to take it. I believe the real issue is that the disinformation is so popular. It's crafted so that some people want to hear it. It's usually not difficult to refute, but there's so much of it that it that even if you're skeptical it's hard to swat away 100% of it. Putting a paywall between you and the actual news source doesn't help, but even if it were free, it's just too much work. And those who don't want to believe it won't.