It’s also important not to forget the interpersonal aspect of how their lot get news. A lot of them believe their family and friends’ words more than a published news source. I see an echo to how urban myths got spread in pre-internet days: a neighbor’s cousin’s best friend’s coworker swears the story really happened to them! It must be true!

When a story is emotionally-engaging enough, it will get spread without ever being questioned. Trump’s path to power basically hijacked (and reinforced) that pre-existing tendency.