I agree with you and @Nemean_lion@lemmy.ca about the importance of keeping updated. Just remember you don’t have to be the one watching it. There are really great pundits out there who are already doing the hard work of swallowing the crap and serving it up in a decent format. The good ones usually include the hypocrisy, rebuttals, reality of the situation, all sorts of knowledge to share with friends and loved ones (even better if you find a good segment to start them on new news media). (I can provide some creators, but there’s a lot out there you can probably find)
I honestly don’t know how effective any of this is though with the constant swallowing of propaganda. You can dispute one claim with facts, but then they watch an afternoon and get 5 more. I think steering them clear of the bullshit is the most important thing but it’s not just news sources but algorithms on every platform that keeps them locked into that mindset. Laws need to be passed for news/media organizations to make them responsible for the things they report if we want to actually try and reach citizens instead of corpomedia.
edit: grammar
lol I remember that about the debate fact checking and all the crap they kept throwing up on how a real debate is practically impossible (even though many smaller broadcasters and organizations don’t seem to have any problem with it). They say debates are useless and I’m starting to agree with the general consensus. Now, they should be important. But they way they’re covered in mainstream as more about “feelings”, the lies and propaganda that are allowed to be spread at them, and the fact no politician is actually held accountable for campaign promises makes them moot as they exist today.
I would recommend Majority Report and Humanist Report (Canadian based) off the top off my head (they have links to all their uploads on all the platforms for whatever you use). There are a lot of more independent news organizations that are decent if you start looking for them.