Then what is the problem? Why is it that grown adults have a hard time respecting the traditional news media more than random sources? That's the crux of the issue that needs to be explored rather than reactionary authoritarianism.

Peer review and corrections are indeed important, but many have lost respect for traditional news media due to the selective reporting that they feel pushes a certain narrative.

I believe your comment is spot on mate. "Traditional" news media may even "lie less" than the average political blogger and the likes, but they have an army of competent communication boffins who know how to extract whatever conclusion they want from any possible fact. Also their oldest trick is simply selective reporting, which allows any individual piece of new to pass even the most strict peer reviewing, while retaining some neat control over what data will be used by their viewers when formin their opinions.

Human psychology is easily manipulated, and you're seeing that happen right now. Whoever controls the information controls the masses. The Internet is being weaponised by every major large interest in the World - nation states, big oil, climate activists. Progressive folks got here first, but now everyone is using it, and frighteningly enough people like Steve Bannon are really really good at it.

Take a look at Walter Lippmann.

And why are you convinced this bid to control the news is not part of that weaponizing process; maybe you're inadvertently helping them. "They" may just be seeking cover under the idea that adults are too easily manipulated to trust their abilities to sort fact from fiction.

Adults are easily manipulated.