Anecdotal from personal observation. I'm old enough to remember when I first heard the term "conspiracy theory" enter the public lexicon. Over time I began noticing that things that had been labeled "conspiracy theory" just a couple years before had been converted into "accepted fact". As the internet grew and the hive mind grew with it, the conversion rate seemed to be accelerating. I think this may also be in part due to the change in people's acceptance of what the controlled media is putting out as "The Approved Narrative". As the public trust of controlled media sources plummets, the conversion rate from "conspiracy theory" to "accepted fact" accelerates to keep pace. There is also an intelligence barrier. Liberals like what the media tells them, because it reinforces their reality. They are comfortable with it and less accepting of contrary views. When the evidence that a previous "conspiracy theory" has become incontrovertible and has converted to an "accepted fact" the liberal simply hand waves it away, because accepting it might mean that he would then also have to question other facets of his world-view. The amygdala kicks in, and he flees, pretending that it never happened at all. Now it is simply common knowledge that *everything* the government and media (but I repeat myself) say is The Lie. Including the words "a", "and", and "the". But the public is also becoming much more adept over the years in "reading between the lines" and perceiving the shadow of truth behind the lies. In a weird sort of application of Aristotelian logic, "Okay. If "A" is *known* to be a lie because (((they))) say so, and "B" is also a *known* lie, because (((they))) say so, then this other thing over here, that (((they))) clearly dare not speak of and reflexively label a "conspiracy theory", MUST therefore be the truth.