And there has always been people spreading fake stories. I think what most of us are getting at, is the amount of fake information (that looks more and more real each year with AI) is mixed in with the "news" that we would normally trust. We no longer just watch CBS for 1 hour, or pick up one newspaper. We are force fed stories from 1 million different directions, and hardly any of them are confirmed to be true. This environment has also forced the formerly trustworthy sources to rush stories so they aren't late to the party; this almost certainly causes sloppy reporting.
@BigRedBuster laid it out pretty well a couple of pages ago. Everyone's belief systems are created by internet algorithms and it is works well enough that it makes the people feel like they are using free will and critical thinking to come to the "truth". At least their version of it. People should not only confirm claims by cross-referencing other sources, they should also research the authors to see if their is any bias from the author. You're a S.S. teacher, you know that. But with this informational firehose coming through the internet, and the gratification that comes from people "liking" our hot takes, no one does any thinking.
The only solution to any of that is to nuke social media. It won't happen, I'm just venting because I'm inside and can't see any clouds to yell at....