In a speech by Obama, Putin was blamed for sowing public’s distrust to authorities. But Putin was given too much credit. Public never trust the authorities on important issues, such as the explanation of assassination of JFK.

Transcript of Obama’s speech

And of course, autocrats like Putin have used these [social media] platforms as a strategic weapon against democratic countries that they consider a threat. People like Putin and Steve Bannon, for that matter, understand it’s not necessary for people to believe this information in order to weaken democratic institutions. You just have to flood a country’s public square with enough raw sewage. You just have to raise enough questions, spread enough dirt, plant enough conspiracy theorizing that citizens no longer know what to believe. Once they lose trust in their leaders, in mainstream media, in political institutions, in each other, in the possibility of truth, the game’s won. And as Putin discovered leading up to the 2016 election, our own social media platforms are well designed to support such a mission, such a project.

YouTube video

https://www.youtube.com/live/ExEApwbhfqQ?si=5OkyvtW6MXWgkIm2

Starting at 31 minute.