I don't think that contemporary, high emotional arousal misinformation sources are harmless. I contend instead that the feeling of superiority and constant nov

I don't think that contemporary, high emotional arousal misinformation sources are harmless. I contend instead that the feeling of superiority and constant novelty of conspiracy theories lead to a dopamine-addiction loop. Since novelty is one of the primary focal points of the human attention system, we are hijacked and conned by these systems. This is why high-anger television (Fox News) has ads for gold and reverse mortgages. Turn off the ability to fight, make them angry, then when the cognitive defenses are turned off, take them for what they are worth. Misinformation and the hole that leads into it are not harmless, and lead to mental degradation and emotional trauma.