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At least that's the explanation Alex Jones, a right-wing radio broadcaster, was peddling on his show this past Wednesday. He argued that Trump Jr. should be praised, not ridiculed, for trying to protect America from hostile foreign intelligence. Jones is notably the same broadcaster who last month interviewed Robert David Steele, a man who claimed that the 2,000 children who go missing every day are being shipped to Mars to be used as sex slaves. It's easy to dismiss Jones' show and his cohorts as far-right conspiracy theorists, but his blog, Infowars.com, has over 3 million American viewers every month and his radio show, which is syndicated on more than 60 stations, is reported to have anywhere between 2 million and 5 million listeners daily. Most importantly, his show also has the backing of President Donald Trump, who has argued Jones has an amazing reputation and deserves a Pulitzer.

Going as far back as Joseph Pulitzer's and William Randolph Hearst's "yellow journalism," America has developed a tradition of sensationalist writers, broadcasters and fearmongers. But now we have a dangerous mix with a sensationalist president who tweets out his own form of yellow journalism and reinforces the credibility of unhinged thinkers like Jones and his cohorts.

Put simply, fact and fiction are morphing into alternative facts and gospel. Since the United States is the most powerful economy and military in the world, this is not just an American problem -- it has the potential to be a global problem, particularly if our government begins to make decisions based on falsehoods.

Yet the phenomenon of believing the absurd rather than critically questioning it is nothing new.

What can those of us who eschew the illusion of knowledge and seek the truth do? Charles Mackay wrote, "Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." So go find a member of the herd. Appeal to his mind by listening carefully and creating an exchange, and then introduce elements of critical thinking.

Appeal to his patriotism by paraphrasing President Carter's reflection that "The best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation." (Tip: don't tell them that Carter said it.)

The whole world is depending on you.

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Donald Trump, Alex Jones and the illusion of knowledge - CNN