And we still trust the mainstream media because?

While you are completely correct in stating that these things happened I am not sure that your assumptions are in line. Yes, the media did these things. But, I think it boils down to shear stupidity versus faking something. The news media outlets are so desperate to get the next big news break, they literally jump on any story they can get their hands on. They are supposed to be diligent and check to make sure their facts are correct and that they themselves are not being dupped. Honestly, they dont. They are so competetive they just fire blindly hoping to get the next best thing. The media isnt trying to deceive us, they are just so stupidly incompetant that they end up doing it anyways.