I personally do not attach any negative or positive meaning to the word. I use it because it is recognizable. That being, it can certainly be used in that context.
It is a hard sell to get anyone to see past any propaganda. I mostly cover the drug war and the lies associated with it so I deal with that type of thing regularly. Lies are often designed to keep people comfortable with the shady activity of the propagandist's employer so they are often more attractive than reality. I actually touched on this issue in a few recent posts. The solution I suggested most recently is to treat all claims as questionable and to weigh them against reality yourself because systems of authority can not be trusted to provide accurate information.
Thank you for clarifying that. No doubt we must look through the lens of our experience with reality. We can never expect to only believe what we can personally verify. However, we can use our judgment, experience & discernment.