That is their strategy, and it’s been very effective.
They put out thousands of #fakenews stories, such as the “hate crime” hoaxes. They spread throughout the entire media system, are yammered about endless by the usual suspects in politics, and then when they are exposed as hoaxes, no one apologizes, and all most people remember is the charge, not that it turned out to be a hoax.
I believe it will change with Donald.
There will be a lot of come-to-Jesus’es, both political and spiritual, going on quite shortly.