his point is, have _you_ translated these things for yourself or just relied on someone else to do so?

Yes, i have. It's not worth the bytes it took to get to me and i wonder what kind of cynic would even try to write so blatantly wrong bullshit.

while i was replying to you, i meant “you” in general. his point is a valid one: that most people simply take the information that’s presented to them, and, despite knowing what the source of that information is, choose to believe it at face-value. whether this news is from state-controlled media or the new york times or wherever, people ignore the known fact that their news source is likely biased in some way and, without bothering to do any research themselves, let that news shape their opinions.