I have what may prove to be an unpopular theory.

Yes. There is. Maybe not in an illuminati single-table-around-which-everyone-meets standpoint, but there is very definitely an emergent behavior.

And it would appear I’m not alone in the thought: - YouTube

You missed my point by a country mile.

The USA no longer has a unified media presence. There is no more agreement on basic facts.

That in part is why Trump was elected. Where do you think Trump voters got their information? They were not watching ABC or reading the New York Times.
Many were getting their information from media outlets that ultimately traced back to Russia Today (which sounds crazy, I know, but even today I’ve got right-wing acquaintances posting links about the Chicago beating, and not a single person has posted anything from a media company based in the Western World).