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I think it has something to do with the adoption of the meme beyond channer culture. To anyone using the site, it's obvious that some random tripcode user holds

I think it has something to do with the adoption of the meme beyond channer culture. To anyone using the site, it's obvious that some random tripcode user holds no more credibility than an anonymous one. But perhaps baseless, pseudo-anonymous allegations are given an extra flair of "mysteriousness" and "intrigue" to those who are unfamiliar with the site. The media plays into this: recall the "hackers on steroids" incident.

saila 4y ago
Susceptibility is a big factor too. Seeing something mysterious on the internet is one thing, but believing in something that has no factual or verifiable basis is quite another. So a followup question is, why are so many people susceptible? It seems to have something to with making sense of the world when you feel like you're being lied to all the time, and I totally get that part, but I don't get how these conspiracy theories help with that. It would be one thing if it was just a handful of people, because there's always a few people who will believe anything, but it's a lot more than just a few in this case.