The Conspiracy Theorists Are Winning

Note that it's the media who amplify the real "signal" to the dumbed-down messages. The more accurate message were "we are entering the epidemics unprepared, please don't try to buy the mask as even the doctors don't have enough of them."

But then the people would rightfully ask "hasn't somebody actually been dearly paid to make sure that there are enough masks, especially since it was known that some event like this is extremely probable" etc.

And note that those that amplify them aren't the experts. When, for example, some virologist who regularly comes in contact with even deadlier viruses says, from his experience, that "thin masks don't work" it's because for his use case (being regularly exposed) they indeed completely don't work -- he'd die if he'd use them. However, an epidemiologist, considering the possible reduction of infection rate, would not give the same answer, but he was not in the media at all then!

The media are dumb when amplifying, but the media are also guided by their own agendas, and that is what also must be recognized.

And of course, "We've always been at war with Eastasia":

https://blog.erratasec.com/2016/02/weve-always-been-at-war-w...

So yes, intentionally making the population dumb can give exactly the results we see. Unfortunately there are indeed people who do have such agendas, for various reasons. Some are very rich, and do this for decades. And even organize with others who share their views (actual conspiracies, but don't call them so). And some individuals even admit their agendas. The producer of Ancient Aliens, for example, is intentionally against science:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/style/ancient-aliens.html

“It’s really a show about looking for God. Science would have you believe we are the result of nothing more than a chance assemblage of matter. The real truth is we don’t know.”

The questions posed by the ancient astronaut theorists, however far-fetched, serve a rare purpose, according to Mr. Burns: “It allows the audience to wonder. And very few things on television do that.”"

In short, people are actually being intentionally misinformed, people actually "feel" that, but the misdirection often still works. Look, shiny UFO lizards. And bleach. And hydroxychloro..whatever. And some other country is guilty. And it's used from both left and right! During the Nobel peace-prize winner's presidency "happened" both the Libya and Syria wars, or whatever, we've always been at war with Eastasia. And against drugs. No, we aren't doing this because there are biggest oil reserves, escalating during the pandemic, we just do our war on drugs. And you are just Fake News, shut up.

That's what we get.