I think the real problem isn’t whether people are good at recognizing misinformation so much as the social epistemology of parties has been eroding. People want to believe, and will actively seek out, information that establishes their view.
Everything is politicized, thus a threat to oneself. It’s more important to demonstrate loyalty than to see reality. If Wil E Coyote doesn’t look down, gravity doesn’t exist.
Right now, it’s rude to mention that people attacked Congress, that we played keep-away with an ally’s support right before they were invaded, that we had a real pandemic that killed over a million people, or that the hurricanes we’re observing are consistently larger and larger. They want to pull the NOAA funding because reporting how the temperature changes outside is too political.
