This is dangerous territory. And, it’s been growing for the past 15 years.
Righting this ship of State will be no faint undertaking...
I agree...these waters flowing could escalate at any time where political debate or opposing views are shut down completely....and who are actually determining what is or not factual? ...people sitting behind computer screens.
What are termed to be “misinformation” as opposed to “credible information” gets onto some shifting ground, as amorphous as “public opinion”. A changing perception, based on evidence as it becomes available or as it is revealed, can sometimes totally alter the interpretation of what really happened.
Dismissing certain tentative judgments because they are “crackpot” or “unconventional” may cripple or invalidate the conclusions arrived at, because of distortion or denial of certain realities.
Think of it as being a wrongly determined outcome of a trial, when the accused was innocent of whatever crime was charged in the beginning.