Not quite. It assumes that some people don't verify what they're told, and so follow what people in authority tell them. That means people in authority have a responsibility not to abuse their authority.
If everyone was rational and didn't do what they were told, choosing to verify everything and only follow what was appropriate, then the entire marketing, ad, government, legal, prison, etc industries would all collapse because they wouldn't be necessary any more. It's fairly obvious that there are people who follow dangerous, stupid advice.