“And I wonder what percentage of them actually believe that what they are saying is true”
Most of them are working toward an objective and say things to advance that agenda, not caring if it’s true, but judging success on the effect the words have on the populace.
It’s advertising, a branch of advertising called consensus shaping or consensus engineering.
I do not expect that the guys who write detergent ads to actually believe that their brand gets your shirts brighter, whiter with a lemony tang!, but they do watch sales (how many people they got to switch brand preference). Same thing.
Much of consensus shaping was pioneered by Edward Bernays in the early 40’s.
And when the media only parrots what these liars say, it is propaganda. Sad. If the idiots at least believed what they said I might have SOME respect for them. And some hope that they can be educated (like some of my friends). Instead it is all a B.T. Barnum circus.