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Notes -
I think trust was fading before as people were aware of the lies of the media and public leaders long before Covid. What I think Covid and its massive overreaction did was tear off the bandage. People are now pretty open about their distrust of officials and official information organs. But whether the trust can be restored is up to those officials and those information organs taking a hard look at themselves and their practices and deciding to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Until those things happen, I just don’t see the public taking the CDC, FBI, or other organizations seriously. Nor do I think, absent such a change, most mainstream news outlets can become a trusted source of news. Not lying and apologizing for previous lies is critical here.
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