There are volumes written on the attraction of conspiracy theories and the attraction to them. It isn't just older people either. Being "in the know" or "knowing something most people do not know" is pretty common. Its the same emotion that drives people to dive into many topic areas.

I was very fascinated by conspiracy theories in my teens. I lost interest in my twenties due to more important things. I got busy. My guess is that older folks just have more time and go down rabbit holes.

The other thing I have noticed more since covid is that since the trust in "establishment voices" has cracked, and for good reason. People that used to believe the news and "respected voices" no longer do. But instead of just being skeptical in general, many fall for straight up scam artists that are using conspiracy to sell.

Honestly, after what has been exposed in the last few years I'm not surprised to see people fall for crack pot stuff. But you have to remember. What is a theory in your eyes might actually be fact. Facts you don't have access to. All conspiracy theories are theories until they are proven.

I was called a crackpot at work for saying the NSA and feds were sucking up all internet traffic after 9/11. Until Snowden exposed it to the world. There are many such examples we could probably all cite.

The media even promotes conspiracy theories. Remember the Trump Russia stuff? Most have forgotten that most of the stories from 2016 that were pushed until 2020 have been debunked.

Its hard to determine fact from fiction. Most people seem to lack the ability to use logic. Its why I try to tune out a lot of the noise.