Has the media got worse or are we just noticing it more now? Maybe this forum is skeptical of mainstream media, but not so much in real life, I find.
I was talking to a German about the pipeline when it happened. She said Putin did it. When I asked why she said because he’s crazy. When I said maybe the Americans did it she said that’s Russian propaganda. I said there were press conferences where the president and his spokeswoman both threatened the pipeline. She said she saw people posting that on Facebook but it doesn’t prove the Americans did it. I didn’t pursue it any further. I don’t know if she’s changed her mind since.
A few Scottish people I know also expressed the view that Putin did it. Only one person, outside of family, I have encountered who said the US is most likely.
Germans in particular perhaps have a hard time accepting the US did it, because bombing the pipeline was against German interests too. The US has been trying to convince Germany not to cooperate with Russia on the pipeline since before they even started building it. I guess, since persuasion didn’t settle the issue, blowing it up ended the discussion. If that’s what really happened then it doesn’t speak well to how the US treats its so-called allies. Such behaviour is a sign of weakness not strength because the US sees its power waning.
I can’t be certain the US did it, obviously. Whether that is what happened or not, the fact that the media don't even give airtime to that as a reasonable explanation speaks poorly to their objectivity and quality of their analysis.