I'm a second grade teacher and I believe this is the age and the year to start really helping students learn. We are OBSESSED with standards because of the ubiquity and consequences of standardized tests. In my school, it is verboten to say such things aloud. and most teachers I know are cowed into saying nothing in front of an administrator and thus they don't question the doctrine of standardization that rules everything we do. We are more like McDonald's than we care to admit.

My point though is that at this age and stage of cognitive development, kids should start getting dosed with "pre-bunking" lessons. This is just a start, of course, but it is probably way more than most schools can handle. Pre-bunking kids about conspiracy theories, sharing the facts about the earth, for example, and how we know it's round THEN bringing up that some people actually believe it's still flat. Hearing that weird idea for the first time will be confusing for kids, but with facts about the earth given to them first, they will conclude that the idea is stupid and unfounded. Later, when someone approaches them with that theory, they will remember that the theory is dumb. Pre-bunking. It's a tool all teachers should put in their pedagogical toolbox at once.

To your point about context clues and dates, I think you may be right, but I'm not sure it's direct enough to have much consequence. The internet is 1980s Time Square, with all its lascivious stupidities pushed right out into your face. People get conned by all the flashy neon lights. We should just tell kids about the flashy neon lights and the stupidity at an early age so we can influence their opinions in a positive way. (Any teacher who believes they are impartial and objective is wrong. We are all influencers in our classroom, though perhaps not as strong as YouTubers.)