That's how they get you.

They build your trust with some truth (or at least something believable. Usually half-truths and lies-through-omission nowadays). Add in some fear. Then what you accept as truth changes.

This is why it's so damn dangerous that Sinclair and Nexstar owns almost every goddamn local news broadcast in the country. They didn't just buy the stations...they bought the trust that those stations had earned in the local market. That was the real asset.