Much of the fake news causing so much alarm is trivial compared to the distorted view of the world promoted by many mainstream policymakers and commentators. One version insists the existing international system of rules made the past 70 years the most prosperous and stable the world has ever seen. Sadly, this golden era is now supposedly threatened by Russia and China.

Sure, there were some terrible wars in earlier centuries, including parts of the globe in the Middle Ages. But this doesn't diminish the unacceptable level of horrific violence and instability during the past 70 years, some created by countries claiming to champion a global rules-based order. The prominent Australian strategic commentator, Peter Jennings, often demands that China obey these rules without acknowledging that the US-led invasion of Iraq trashed the core international principles endorsed at the end of World War II. The repercussions are still felt in the violence racking the Middle East and the associated flood of refugees.