When even the "more trustworthy" US news outlets (HAHAHAHAHA!) are manufacturing consent, it becomes very difficult for us to be anything other than idiots. Talking with my longtime acquaintances and friends in CA, DE, VN, and JP, the conversations invariably become "Did you hear about [current event causal factors]? This is super obvious, and here is [their reliable news sources]." Well, shit.
For example, the one that really blew me away was the US manipulating geopolitics with UA and RU so as to bring the EU to heel. WAT. "Oh yeah. I think US citizens are the only ones to whom that isn't obvious. Y'all can't stand having a true, strong democracy around. That's why y'all are pushing the right-wing shit here too."
I consider myself well-read (30+ non-fiction books per year, plus investigative journalism), but damn... some days I feel truly, completely out of the loop.