And, of course, I disagree. Nobody, but nobody, has time to check the 1000 pieces of data and adverts that are thrown at them every single day. it's not feasible to check everything.

And blaming people for not 'critically thinking' about something is disingenuous.

When one has a solid block of factual information, there is no need to go and do some 'critical thinking.'

For instance, when Republicans call Democrats communists, if they actually knew what communists were, they wouldn't throw that around. It isn't critical thinking that is required (for the most part), it is a better education, and a much higher grade of general knowledge.

Apart from that, I am of the firm opinion that nobody can teach people to think. Some people think, and some people don't. It's an involuntary response of the human brain.