> authoritarian methods will need to be imposed to ensure authentic communication methods.

No. That's actually one use for blockchains. Record an event. Derive a hash value from the recording. Post the hash value to a blockchain, which time-stamps it. If several people record the same event from different viewpoints independently and have the same timestamps, you can be pretty sure it was a real event.

"People" can be a municipal streetcam, and security cameras on either side of a street, assuming the buildings have different owners. If they all match, it was a real event.