Stupid? Some of the people in charge are stupid. I could make a list but it would probably match your own.

But the majority of the pols and media who are pushing this crap know exactly what they are doing. Highly educated people pretending to be bumpkins because they know their voters are bumpkins.

Does the fake psychic know how to cold read, to lead, to use magicians' tricks to take money from the rubes? Of course they do. Now there are some of the religious types that truly believe what they peddle but very few. Most know how to keep the tax-free donations rolling in from little old widows with an unsupervised check book so they can buy private jets.

Same with the hosts of Fox "News", fully vaxed, telling their loyal audience to not get vaxed. Or saying 1/6 was a peaceful protest after texting in alarm to the Chief of Staff.

Or the snake oil supplement crowd.

The most of them know exactly that they trade in lies and fear for their own profit and power.