“And to defeat them, you have to counter the scams with facts and evidence.”
This hasn’t always been my experience. “Facts and evidence” can also be called tools of truth, and I find people who haven’t been completely mind erased by liberal illness don’t respond well to truth. Some of them violently reject it.
But I think overall, you are correct.
True, there’s no guarantee. Relatively few people really care if the things they believe are true.
Still, it’s the best shot we have.