To me that just seems like the difference between usage of "fakes"/sarcasm for positive purposes and usage for toxic, bigoted purposes. In the example you liste

To me that just seems like the difference between usage of "fakes"/sarcasm for positive purposes and usage for toxic, bigoted purposes. In the example you listed - no, "people" (the audience to the supposed sarcasm, I guess) are not stupid per se. Indeed, despite the name's implications many people are acutely aware of these dog whistles for bigoted ideology. I don't see how that relates to far less cruel sarcasm which largely requires a sort of mutual cynicism and shared context around a subject or current event. And in particular, this doesn't help me understand why so many internet commenters seem to mis-perceive sarcasm as literal truth when it's quite clear. Obviously there's Poe's law to explain this. That, and the internet can capture a strange bucket of people, not all of who are privy to the latest goings on.