I'm constantly trying to convince somebody, usually a family member, that they need to turn off the television completely, especially the "news", and that it's only there specifically to brainwash them and manufacture consent in their minds.
This process is frustrating and seemingly futile, especially if they are over 40 years old. It's like trying to convince somebody that they are addicted to drugs; they are 100% sure that you are wrong, and they are also 100% sure that they are in control of the experience. It is endlessly frustrating.
Without being able to convince somebody to stop watching "news" it's impossible to ever convince them that they are being scammed continuously, e.g., pertaining COVID-19, etc. You could send them a fucking video of the entire government eating orphaned babies and then laughing while chanting "we want to kill everybody with poisonous vaccines and we worship Satan", and all it would take is one hour of television "news" to reset them back to their normal state.
We're in the "save yourself" stage of things at this point. Those who don't blatantly see the writing on the wall at this point aren't going to until it's too late. There are NPCs on both sides of the aisle, hell-bent (and as you said- addicted) to occupying their attention with bullshit rather than confront and prepare against the true threats that are coming. It fucking sucks, but the more effort you put into trying to force the proverbial horse to drink, the more you're shooting yourself in the foot.
Focusing on yourself and the few others in your life who see the light is really the only viable strategy I see. Most won't make it- and that includes our loved ones. I'm still friendly and polite to my friends/family/coworkers who are still living in Bullshitland, but they'll all be ghosted (and even treated as threats if they show up at my door) as soon as things go sideways. You brought the horse to water-- that's as much as anyone can reasonably do.