As much as the idealists in me would like to, I can't disagree. How do you go about achieving that in a democratic society though?

Misinformation is like a virus, and it spreads through a population easiest when they accept and share it. All that takes is for it to confirm some preconceived idea or to flatter them. Critical thinking, or at least base line skepticism, seems like the only inoculation.

You're not wrong that that may be too much to expect from people though.