RPGMemes

I think I'll answer this in two separate answers, so as not to conflate in-game issues with real-world issues.

Let's talk a little about how real-world conspiracy theories work, and the dangers therein. I don't want to get too into this, because I don't think this is the right forum for such things, but there's some important things to consider.

1. Nobody is a fully rational actor all the time. Regardless of how "easy" something is to debunk there's always going to be a few people here and there who hear it from a source they trust and believe it. It's incredibly wearing to have to independently check every single thing you hear to see if it's true.

2. It's a widely known problem that when presented with a narrative about something they have no experience of, most humans will subscribe to the first viewpoint they're exposed to, and it's significantly harder to convince a person that they're wrong once they've formed an opinion - reason and logic be damned. Plenty of otherwise-rational people might subscribe to something that makes no sense if they've heard it a few times without any pushback.

3. The idea that if it's "only a small number of people" it's not dangerous is a little flawed. Some conspiracies are silly and mostly harmless, and don't put other people in danger. However, conspiracies about a specific person or place can lead its subscribers to "take matters into their own hands", endangering those people or places. We've had plenty of examples of this that have cost lives.

4. A lot of the time, it's less important how many people are subscribed to an irrational or easily debunked crackpot theory, but who those people are. We've seen examples in most developed nations of legislators up to the highest levels promoting baseless and dangerous rhetoric that influences a large number of people to action. Certain celebrities on social media are known for directly making baseless conspiratorial attacks on people, that drive their fans and supporters to take up those attacks as a cause.

I'm refraining from specific examples, because I don't want this to degenerate into an argument about specific examples, however I hope that this makes sense without the need for such.