But almost no one ever does. There are plenty of people fact checking the Republican debates and pointing out that almost everything that they say is a complete lie. It has almost no impact. A lot of people don't trust the media, so they don't believe the fact checkers either.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to sound like an asshole when I say this, I'm just bad with words so it may seem like such when it's not. Now with that statement placed, let me explain why I believe you may be the one misunderstanding things.

• While I agree with your statement that not many people actually trust the media, this 100% doesn't mean they don't trust fact checkers. Humans by nature are deeply curious animals, they're more likely to take information they've received (Especially negative information) analyze it & form their own cognitive thoughts on the matter. The younger we are the more likely we are to do just that. The reason I bring this up is because my generation (Millennials) are the first to grow up in the age of the internet, we have vast expansions of knowledge no older generations could ever hope to get their hands on. This is exactly why Bernie Sanders is doing so well with my generation. Most of us have a will to learn & as a result we analyze everything.

You don't understand how attack ads work. They are all about misrepresenting things rather than finding actual problems with your record.

Oh I fully know how they work, but again what you don't seem to understand just how much the world is changing in the past 8 years because of everyone's ability to access quick & easy information from the internet & just how much the internet has evolved in 8 years. Negative campaign ads & political attacks can backfire a lot easier nowadays & people are a lot more likely to raise arms & call out bullshit than ever before. Anyone who can afford a smartphone probably has one, this wasn't even remotely the case 8 years ago. Some people had smart phones back then, but not practically everyone like it is nowadays. Negative campaign ads & attacks WILL backfire much easier.

Who's credibility? Even if almost no one finds any of them credible, people will still start to absorb the negative messages subconsciously. They will emotionally associate Sanders with all the Communist death camps even if they don't do so consciously.

The Mainstream Media, that's whose. I highly doubt ANY current MSM cable news channels will even make enough revenue to exist in 10-20 years when the Boomer generation starts to gradually die off in larger numbers. Especially when the current MSM is killing their credibility with Millennials who actually still watch TV for entertainment (Hint: not very many). Humans in addition to being curious are also quite impatient & find it sooo much easier to get their information from the internet & not be forced to sit through commercial breaks.