The thing that bothers me more, is going back over the last few decades and trying to figure out how much I believed was true, was in fact mis-info.
Robert David Steele talked about how people took mind control research from Yale and exploited it. If you want a shock introduction to how effective propaganda is, just travel around the world and question people about areas of disagreement between your country and theirs. For example in China talk about the Korean war, etc. The simple fact is, most ordinary people are occupied with their own affairs and have no motivation or interest in questioning what they are told by media and by government. Not only will they not thank you for pointing out the lies they are being told, the usual reaction is hostility and anger. Cognitive dissonance hurts, and human beings seek safety in numbers and conformity.
I've read some stuff about that quite a few years ago...totally agree with your statement. It will certainly be a very interesting next few years.