More broadly: an inability to discern good sources of information from bad sources of information.

Same solution though: education.

People ignore education, grow up stupid. Stupid people vote stupid politiciants into office. Stupid politiciants cut funding to education. Worse education, people grow up stupider.

Its a vicious cycle

Completely agree. General education from elementary school until the end of high-school feels outdated.

I don't think it's as simple as that. Science is messy and knowing its limitations is just as important as knowing its conclusion.

Scientific opinion can and should be able to change pretty rapidly, the educational system can't.

Besides, a cardiologist is highly unlikely to be able to reliably tell whether a neurological study's conclusions are sound, or not. Let alone someone, who isn't even a doctor.

To top it all up, the monetary incentives in academia are about as corrupt, as it gets. It wasn't so long ago, when studies about how smoking tobacco isn't actually harmful, or addictive, got published in mainstream journals (funded by the tobacco industry, of course).

The result is being taught science that was disproven 20 years ago. I think primary education should focus just as much on critical thinking as it does on learning facts at the very minimum.