How Did We Become So Confused?
Until the 1970s there were 3 main television news networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. Federal law required them to communicate both sides of issues and give equal time to opposing candidates running for public office. This was called the Fairness Doctrine. People trusted them to give the facts. Commentary was clearly delineated as opinion and relegated to the opinion sections of newspapers. (Reputable newspapers still do this.) Most people subscribed to at least one newspaper. Newspapers have editors and hire trained journalists. They must follow journalistic standards in their reporting.
Citing an abridgement to freedom of speech, The FCC, under President Reagan repealed the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. This paved the way for cable TV news shows to dedicate their entire format to lopsided, hyper-partisan views of current events. Commentary (opinion) became embedded in the stories. There are conservative shows and liberal shows. The major three news networks still exist, but people grow very comfortable watching a show that completely confirms their biases and worldview all the time.
Though there has always been bias in reporting the news, people generally agreed on the facts. They argued about how to interpret those facts and developed their own opinions based on facts. Now the facts themselves are in dispute. Though news networks have always been businesses in need of viewer support, the sacrifice of truth to profit is a more contemporary problem.
Think about how we are surrounded and bombarded with information from social media, online and print newspapers and magazines, cable TV news and news shows, advertising, billboards, campaign propaganda, books, images, memes, Twitter, Instagram, Editorial cartoons, Aggregate news sources like Apple News, etc. It can be overwhelming. Remain skeptical until you can confirm the facts with a variety of reliable sources. Use the fact checker services and the strategies included in the tools collected under the Resources tab on this website.