The media have a lot to do with how people think and what people think about. The line between popular culture and news has virtually disappeared, giving rise to what some have labeled "infotainment." At the same time, "fake news" in the form of publicity that promoters provide to media outlets under the guise of legitimate news stories has become more common. If the media immerse people in a sea of images and sensation, can critical thinking survive? In the contemporary culture, the media present information as if everything has equal significance. Furthermore, news outlets present information in disjointed, seemingly unrelated bits. The framing of the news, the context in which the news appears, also bears examination. For instance, news reports tend to present stories about poverty as stories about individuals. The result is that citizens blame individuals for poverty, rather than blaming the system. A final problem involves emphasis. News reports tend to focus on violence, which tends to increase disproportionately public fear of violence. Teachers can promote students' critical thinking by challenging media assumptions, and by demonstrating how the media can trivialize public policy issues. Under these circumstances, American society should be more modest than to assume that the United States is the best informed and, therefore, the most democratic country in the world. (SG)