> We've never had a situation where fake news can and does spread the way it does today, where authorities are being undermined like this and casually dismissed by people with no knowledge of the respective fields, etc.
If authorities were never “undermined” you would still be drinking cocaine, giving your kids cough syrup laced with heroin, spraying people with DDT, and also smoking the cigarette brand your doctor recommended.
early 14c., "to train or instruct in some specific subject," from Old French informer, enformer "instruct, teach" (13c.) and directly from Latin informare "to shape, give form to, delineate," figuratively "train, instruct, educate," from in- "into" (from PIE root *en "in") + formare "to form, shape," from forma "form" (see form (n.)). In early use also enform until c. 1600. Sense of "report facts or news, communicate information to" first recorded late 14c. Related: Informed; informing.
But what if authorities would never have been believed? If everyone just dumped their trash into the countryside, drove 120 mph in cities, gave a damn about building codes or safety measures?
If authorities were never “undermined” you would still be drinking cocaine, giving your kids cough syrup laced with heroin, spraying people with DDT, and also smoking the cigarette brand your doctor recommended.
If authorities were never “undermined” you would still be drinking cocaine, giving your kids cough syrup laced with heroin, spraying people with DDT, and also smoking the cigarette brand your doctor recommended.