Not sure if ‘stupid’ is the right description, but I can’t think of a word to best describe this condition.
I am not talking about folks with elevators don't quite reach the top floor. This is a category of a different kind.
The ones I am referring to are those folks that are well, just plain gullible. These are the folks that read fake news and totally believe it, just like the guy that totally believed the sex traffic ring was being run from a pizzeria.
Despite this fake news being debunked by numerous sites, this guy totally believed this silliness and almost caused a real tragedy.
Then there are the 'birthers'. There are many people who believe that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and not eligible to be President of the United States. The conspiracy was started by a Democratic supporter for Hillary Clinton during the election campaign 2008. Despite the fact there was no real proof this was true and Obama's birth certificate being provided by the State of Hawaii, many people still believe it to this day.
There are people that believe the government of the United States was behind the World Trade Center tragedy, man did not go to the moon, the Sandy Hook shootings did not really happen, and the list goes on and on.
So why are so many people so gullible? It's probably due to several reasons, but mainly because of what I call 'a special kind of stupid'. A lot of these folks are intelligent, but when a theory is introduced by someone and it appeals to the 'I want to believe this' element present in someone, this 'special kind of stupid' or confirmation bias, kicks in. Once this happens, no amount of proof will sway their belief.
A Guide to Arguing With a Snopes-Denier
Some will believe, but some won’t.
Martha
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