It matters because they waste the time of serious researchers.
Look, I’m not saying the cranks should be dragged out back and shot, just that they are a net negative.
Political thinking that probably predates the Egyptian pyramids: If you empower people with freedom, it will be abused in a way that produces some suffering for everyone that wouldn't be had the freedom not been granted. There would definitely be tradeoffs to having a culture of free and open learning, research, and knowledge sharing, unguarded by institutions.