The problem as I see it is that those crazy people discovered the internet, and met the other crazies that reinforced the stupid stuff they believed. And when enough of them got together, people started to notice and someone was like, “I can make money off this by making them interact with non-crazies.” The first probably was Facebook, but after others saw how profitable it was, they decided to have their own slice of the pie, which in turn made those fringe groups more noticeable.
The problem as I see it is that those crazy people discovered the internet, and met the other crazies that reinforced the stupid stuff they believed. And when enough of them got together, people started to notice and someone was like, “I can make money off this by making them interact with non-crazies.” The first probably was Facebook, but after others saw how profitable it was, they decided to have their own slice of the pie, which in turn made those fringe groups more noticeable.
And don’t forget the last step, which is also the most dangerous of all: the crazies get so organized that they become politically relevant.