Who, or what, benefits by confusing the general population?
Let me be clear: I don’t think that part of the population is unable to think critically, but clearly they were never taught how. In the absence of critical thinking, conspiracy theories seem to stimulate the same part of the brain, albeit in a clumsy, inelegant way.
Or, let’s ask this question from a different perspective: Were online social networks designed to divide and spread misinformation to the masses, or was that an organic consequence of humans interacting with the algorithms?