You write this as if there were people that have full independence. When having full independence would mean living off grid and have no influence on noone. It is rather about finding which information is most reliable and depend on its findings. When you connect to the internet, you depend directly on many sources which are shown on your browser. So it is not a question if you need media to get informed correctly. It depends on what media one consumes.

Defnitly the information of a known journalist with a reputation wnd depending his income on journalism I trust much more then some hobbiest influencer, which tries to play privat Sherlock.