Sometimes, I use the term "establishment," which brings up the question "what or who is the establishment?"
Ultimately, there's no need to know who exactly makes up the establishment. The important question is, can they be trusted and are they benevolent?
Since 9/11 truth emerged, it became clear the establishment was malevolent and untrustworthy.
That's all you need to know, in addition to what they control.
They control the mainstream media, private and public, including newspapers and TV networks, they control Google and Wikipedia, many online media outlets, most governments and many NGOs, especially the large and international ones like the WHO.
The question becomes: what sources don't they control and what sources of information can be trusted?
That becomes increasingly clear with experience and by determining the accuracy of information over time that a source shares.
One sign that a source is unreliable is when they parrot establishment propaganda.
Only sources that question establishment propaganda can be trusted to any extent.
Even then, it may require cross referencing with other non-establishment aligned sources to arrive at a more reliable picture of a situation.