I kinda agree, there are more **intentional** false claims now, but before the internet there were just as many false claims its just now they are **unintentional**.
Back before the internet finding out if something was true or not was a monumentally difficult task as we just didnt have the group resources that we have today. Encyclopedias were bulky books with tons of errors compared to wikipedia today, which still has errors, but far fewer and the knowledge is far more expansive and advanced.