those *independent *non-profit organizations...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

in other words: trust no one and nothing

#3 No. Distrust everyone and everything.

that is scary!..

The problem as I see it is the "balanced reporting" self-imposed requirement these days and the "we have to report this first" mentality in reporting. So if you just regurgitate two sides without looking below the surface for the truth, you really haven't as a news organization given the viewer or reader anything of value.

Too many these days think that there's no truth, there's my opinion and your opinion, but in reality there is generally just one truth.

#6 Sadly there is a lot of shouting on some topics, when people want their opinion to be the truth so very badly. And the one who shouts louder becomes the one who is right often enough...

You can google virtually every alternative treatment, no matter how silly, and you will have to search really hard before you find real scientific advice. Either big pharma sucks at astroturfing, or the problem is not as big as Sharyl Attkisson presents it. But then again such a largescale conspiracy would explain why nobody takes her seriously in regard of the dead horse she keeps beating (vaccination-authism-link). I guess to her it is more probable that everyone who comments pro-vaccination is a payed shill, than that she suffers from confirmation bias with this toppic.

I am not denying that it is happening, just saying that she seems a bit too paranoied about it.

Oh boy, this one will get downvoted really bad....

#8 the topic doesn't seem to touch people enough to start a major downvoting.

If I said, Cannabis should be illegal everywhere and that it is extremely dangerous to ones health, now that would be a major down voter.

Man, she is HOT!

"Drown out a link between a medicine and a harmful side-effect, say vaccines and "autism."
She had me interested until there. The reality is that there was never any good evidence of a link here. I suspect she is anti-vaccine and from this I go looking. Tada: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/anti-vaccine-propaganda-from-sharyl-attkisson-of-cbs-news-2/

Her whole presentation is set up in such a way that any criticism of it can just be written off as astroturfing against her. This is David Icke level conspiracy-mongering.

Keystone XL.... Big time.

Being critical of the over-medication culture and for-profit corruption of the business side of private healthcare in the U.S. is one thing. Being critical of vaccinations in general, because there is a microscopically higher autism rate among vaccinated kids is on a whole different level. This is the macro version of the housewife being worried about cellphone radiation while the kids are just one poorly shut door or gate away from drowning in the pool on your watch. Yes, there is a risk. Nothing comes without any risk whatsoever. That's called life. There are no free lunches in nature. The key is trading risks with a positive outcome. Cleanliness and higher standards of living brought us more allergies and cancer rates. But that's okay, because we also get to live much better lives in the big picture and we are getting close to curing cancer and allergies can be avoided by simply allowing your kids to play in the dirt more often to naturally boost their immune system.
It's a balance you have to hold, nothing more nothing less. We have to get better at seeing through bullshit in order to know where the truth is most likely to be found, even when mixed with propaganda. Understand motivations - that means being willing to look for clues that do not confirm your views.

It basically comes down to: Would you rather suffer and possibly die because your appendix ruptured inside your stomach or would you instead accept the .2% risk (I'm making up numbers because I'm lazy) of dying from general anesthesia to get the surgery?

I love how in the end, she claims our glasses are now no longer foggy, when you can take her argument ad absurdum with that logic. What if her questioning of the questioners of the questioning of authority is also astroturfing, but without the inflammatory language? Wouldn't that be the ultimate conspiracy? And then we just keep going into outer space with this until nobody believes anything anymore and we go back into the stoneage.