I think the "smarter" one is, the more gullible they are. As someone with a PhD, I try very hard not to be gullible ... I can't say I always succeed. But I am highly skeptical of everything I hear/read. That skepticism helps.
I’d just say that even if someone is educated well in one field - it doesn’t mean that they’re generally well educated or that they have good critical thinking skills outside of their field. I’m surrounded by PhDs - they’re all great at their field, terrible at everything else. Min/Maxed their stats very hard there.
It's a stone that will only be moved by future technology. Perhaps a mastery of biology/neurology or more. Until then, it is essentially unchangeable.
A PhD holder is a PhD holder, at least in part, because they trusted that the many 1000's of hours of study and hard work they put into to receive a certificate from an institution was worth it. And this is because they, at some level, trust the institution itself.
Presumably this trust can also transfer to other "authorities", like US cable new media companies.