Problem with a fair amount of conspiracy theories is that there is a small nugget of truth, just with layers of bullshit around it to make said nugget seem more sinister than it actually is. This can catch you out if you're not careful, as they can seem more "sensical" due to these nuggets.
For example, with covid, there was an attempt by the Chinese government to initially cover it up, but people added shite to it like China invented it, how 5G towers could spread it because China helped make the tech behind it etc.
If stuff like media awareness/critical thinking skills was taught at school (as in how to recognise what is/isn't a good source, healthy scepticism etc), maybe it would help people be more aware of what is/isn't factual and become less susceptible to bullshit. I'd argue it should be essential to do so, especially in this day and age, due to the fact that a lot of content on the internet is frankly a torrent of shit that has no basis in reality, and has already done a massive amount of harm in today's society (if you want a prime example of that, look at the Brexit campaign and how a massive misinformation campaign on Facebook played a pivotal role in it).
