Honestly I think it’s just people being told what to think and employing zero critical thinking. Dumbass arguments that on the surface seems reasonable initially convince them and then if they’re challenged they push back - which frankly is human nature, nobody wants to be wrong. Right wing grifters have broken people’s brains and there’s no easy route back.

Take the migrants in hotels thing in the UK. “They’re putting immigrants up in hotels” on the surface of it I can totally see why that annoys people who are struggling. “Why should they stay in a hotel and I’m getting things tight” is a valid enough question for someone hard up and skipping meals to feed the kids to ask. The agitators use that as a base. The reality is there’s a ton of asylum seekers needing housed because the previous government stopped processing them to make it look like the immigration numbers had gone down, turns out putting them in hotels is the cheapest option to clear the backlog.

I could rant for hours. It pisses me off no end.