so... you made my point for me? "Stories are convincing even if they're entirely baseless"? They convince those who don't care about whether something is true,

so... you made my point for me? "Stories are convincing even if they're entirely baseless"? They convince those who don't care about whether something is true, and so... we should roll with that? How is that an acceptable attitude? No, stories are stories, they're the thing snake oil sellers sell the masses in order to sell their snake oil: put them to the test. If their story is a good story: write it down and then go "cool, so what whether this actually has any merit, or truth?". This isn't Orwell's 1984, just because people like something doesn't mean it's even remotely trustworthy. Let alone pandering to.