OK, let's put a pin in that for now...
The other fork of my argument is the propagation of fear, a way more insidious threat to every society; it's the old question, is ignorance bliss?
Most of what's in newsprint, beyond the local press, doesn't really affect us in any meaningful way bc it both point's to what we can't do anything about and it spins the meaning in favour of the party they support.
If a hermit came out of his cave, everytime it was time to vote and asked a dozen people, randomly chosen, who he should vote for, I think his answer would be free of the press induced propaganda; ignorant?
For some, knowledge is a burden.
I'm not suggesting print et al has replaced anything, I'm suggesting the acceleration phase is too fast for society to find it's feet before it takes the next step.
General AI, might be able to catch-up and find a balance, with an efficient algorithm that filter's what we're allowed to see.