@r1ggedgame
Let's don't move forward under any illusion that there is any such thing as an "unmanipulated stream of information." What you get on Facebook or X that is "unmanipulated" is as far from "truth" or "reality" as you are likely to find in your time on this earth. Everything is always being manipulated by someone for some purpose. The fad to be suspicious or even downright hostile to the idea that legacy media is "manipulating" what you see and hear is just a refusal to believe that professionals know more than we do or to believe that the real problem isn't professional curation. It's allowing the news cycle to become 100% commercialized, for-profit, and largely owned by billionaire tech bros. None of whom ever went to journalism school, or ever took an ethics class, or ever thought for two minutes about "the public good." At first all they cared about was money. Later their attitudes became more nuanced and they were willing to lose money with a larger goal in sight. That goal, if I need to remind you, has nothing to do with providing you with an unmanipulated stream of information. They are there to stir the pot and provide an echo chamber for their Randian one percent stream of consciousness. So unless you're planning on becoming some new age Howard Roark then start asking yourself some searching questions about what it is curation really means, and what it is it's really trying to do. And if you still end up believing that evil overlords are trying to manipulate you... you're right. Just don't think that trading in ABC news for Joe Rogan is somehow setting you free.
Edit: I just read the final line of your post and that's a whole other can of worms that I'll think very carefully about before I reply, for fear of saying anything offensive.
