I’m not sure there is any way to show that, you’d need historical data to compare to.

I think a lot of people expected that scientific advances and evidence would prove to be so convincing and powerful that superstition, irrational clinging to false beliefs and the use of misinformation would fall away and lose their power. That doesn’t seem to be happening, and so this feels like a regression even if it’s just the same old trash piling up for the same old reasons.

See current article on HN about Facebook leaks.

Lying at scale without consequences seems to be becoming more prevalent. The inventor of that is generally considered to be Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister. He used radio and film technology, which were new at the time, plus large rallies, to present a consistent but bogus view of reality.

After WWII, that sort of thing had such a bad reputation that it was not used much until after the WWII generation died off.

Lying at scale? Humans have had organized religion for millennia. You don't need radio, you just have to have an organization of priests to keep the fires burning in the temple and tell people about Jupiter when they visit. Even if you only count directly political lies, we have records of ancient historians expressing their doubts about various stories. I mean, come on, is the claim that the high water mark of truth and public knowledge was the Middle Ages?

Organized religion doesn't scale fast. Growth is measured over centuries.

The impact of radio was huge. For the first time, entire populations of large areas could hear their leaders. For better or worse.