Oh, I am not claiming I have answers! A lot of things can be explained by people not having time and just rolling with whatever other people have strong opinions on (ever been in an organizing committee, or in a group trying to figure out what to watch on Netflix - at some point you just want this to be over).
I think another aspect is simply vanity. It makes some feel special when you have "inside information", and you're "not a sheep" (TM), when in reality, all you do, is run after some other leader.
Edit: Systematic misinformation. Have you compared FoxNews and CNN during the Trump presidency? It's like they were reporting about different planets. One group has a significantly better outcome when it comes to COVID, for example (the motivation behind this is, however, a complete mystery to me).