And by extension the bastardization and gutting of basic education. People who aren't taught how to think won't understand things.

Oh yes they do, as a multiplicator of everything that lobbies and billionaires say and do.

And the Kremlin.

It's literally one of the things that gives lobbies and billionaires the level of control that they have.

Why do you think they managed to keep growing and maintaining control? It's because everyone else is going at each other's throats over artificially created cultural issues in an ever-ongoing culture war, largely fueled by these people and spread and scaled over social media.

Social media is literally the weapon they use, and almost no one has any idea of the level of manipulation they are subject to through their feeds.