I don't believe in conspiracy. I believe in people, that is to say I believe in human nature. Human nature means that we see what we want to see, we see what proves our preconceived notion of what we believe to be true.
This is why we see Satan's face in a fireball, faces in clouds, and more elaborately, we see a government conspiracy in the JFK assassination, the 911 attacks, and other events. In reality, what is happening in the press is much simpler. The reporters look for what they expect to see. If they expect to see that we are losing the war, that is what they find.
If they expect to see that guns cause crime, that is what they see when they find that criminals have guns. They totally miss the cause and effect analysis, and do not see that there is a possibility that crime is attracted to guns, instead they see the opposite.
Misinformation is simply showing an adversary what he expects to see. It is misdirection, exactly like magic tricks, one watches the left hand when you should be watching the right. The constitution guarantees the right to free speech and of the press. Where in the constitution does it say the press must be spoon fed facts, does not have to do their own leg work, and must not be lied to?