The state needs the general public to be ignorant, but it doesn’t simply stand aside hoping that people left to their own devices will end up that way.
No, the state acts affirmatively on many fronts to pour its own half-truths, distortions, and outright lies into the empty vessels of the people’s minds.
Massive institutions such as government schools serve this purpose. Notice, too, how many lickspittles on every politician’s staff are dedicated to “communications” (i.e., propaganda).