I do not think it is about "how much proof" people need rather than how involved any individual is willing to be.

Because everybody who starts having serious concerns about all those "things" will eventually come to the conclusion you made in your article.

If you are looking for proof and you are really interested in the topic then you will find a lot of information which is unpopular but still factually correct.

Everything is about selling ... selling ... selling... information, news, weapons, sex, entertainment, etc.

And for humankind it was always the task to differenciate between the instances where "SHIT" is being sold or truth / "true stuff" is being sold.
This is really applying to every possible interaction that has interest gaining in mind.
If I sell you fake news and you buy it because it is so easy to suck up and comes with nice to look at anchorwomen/-men then I am producing

1. money out of nothing
2. opinions out of nothing

And just because I call myself CNN or BBC my reputation will be tied to this name until the end of times (no pun intended).
Media monopoly is one of the BIGGEST challenges in the next centuries to get rid of. The internet is just a start / enabler / technical 'platform' to solve this problem.
Only because of the internet the people realized how in control the old school media was until then...

So it is always about deciding as an individual:

• do I want a bank account at a regional bank who is invested into regenerative energies. Or do I give my money to the big conglomerate banks...

• do I buy yet one more of those "life advice" books that won't change my life if I am not ready to change it anyway by myself. (or if I can basically read all of the advice in the net anyway, with potential 'updates' of the status quo in certain topics)

• do I buy the cheap plastic shower head that will calcify and need to be replaced in 2-3 years instead of buying ONE stainless steel shower head for 30% more $ which will last 10-20 years

• do I support companies that obviously manufacture heavily by the "planned obsolescence" mechanism or do I focus on rewarding companies that offer me long lasting products (of which there are too few because people just don't care enough)

With this being my first comment on this platform, I hope we can enable a truly community driven, down to earth, freedom of speech enforcing, non-censoring exchange of general & specialized knowledge, news, philosophy, personal stories and any other possible experience that is worth sharing.

pony