It's remarkably easy to deceive most Americans, at least, when it comes to certain countries. We're pretty indoctrinated about what it's "really like" in countries we don't like. From cartoons we watch as a kid, to what they teach us in middle and high school, to what we see on news/documentaries and social media. By the time they claimed Russia was invading Ukraine for no reason other than Putin wanting land, that was all the information Americans needed. They happily accepted every pro-Ukrainian narrative and rejected every fact that contradicted it. The only media opposition were MAGA outlets who love Putin for conservative reasons, and this unreliable media minority was used to dismiss the truth as fringe conspiracy.