I think Crichton was only half right. The value is not in the edited content, it's in having a single narrative going through society. Even if that narrative is partially wrong.
I feel like society is in the midst of restructuring itself to the reality that there will never be a single narrative again.
And I think that's ok because we're reverting back, societally, to a time before mass media. So we know it's possible for societies to function without a single overarching narrative.
(Not to go too far off, but the same thing seems to be coming as a result of deep fakes -- reverting to a time where 1st person accounts from a reputable person were the only reliable evidence. [Where reputation was something of an organic page rank algorithm.])
If you're after better explainer/education content without that kind of pressure on creators, check out Nebula. Paid and adfree, money goes proportionally to people you watch. It's not a super smooth experience sometimes, but I'm a happy subscriber.
There's also people deliberately misrepresenting knowledge for clicks & selling products. Micheal Crichton was right not to be concerned about the fall of journalism. He said (to effect) anybody can write whatever they want. The value is in the edited content. Which he meant by mainstream, validated press agencies that used to control most intepretation. The concept still applies, most of youtube will not be missed.