They aren’t really. They want to believe the crazy shit. At some level it’s comforting for them. They know the real truth others have been trying to keep from t

They aren’t really. They want to believe the crazy shit. At some level it’s comforting for them. They know the real truth others have been trying to keep from them. I saw my father fall down this pipeline, but didn’t understand it at the time. We would listen to things like AM coast to coast with Art Bell on the rare occasions he was home. Even at the time I thought the shows were just fun nonsense and I couldn’t see the other stuff he was listening to constantly as a long haul truck driver warping his brain until he was unrecognizable. Stuff like Art Bell was a gateway drug to more serious conspiracy theorist beliefs. It’s was a nice easy on-ramp for someone who enjoys science fiction to the world of right wing nuttery. I saw the same sort of thing happening on 4chan. I was there for the lols and to be an edgy teen and thought everyone else was there for the same reason. No one took it seriously. Taking it seriously was the only way to “lose”. It was satire. Except for all of those for who it wasn’t.