> Maybe the world has changed but when someone says something stupid and someone else calls them on it, backing it up with facts, and they double down on the stupid... shouldn't there be a population of people out there that see this as a desperation move on the part of the original poster?
Did you miss the entire Trump presidency? People love that sort of thing. Facts are difficult, inscrutable things that have to be dug out of observations and carefully safeguarded. They often tend to be disappointing. Whereas lies and fantasies? Those are theatre.
Oh, and algorithmic timelines make this worse: correcting someone is promoting their original views to other people.
The problem is that there is too much information. For (almost) any position, there are some facts that support that position. There are other facts that oppose the position. The evidence (the sum of all the facts) often leans one way or the other - either supporting or opposing the position. But someone arguing in bad faith can often find enough facts to look somewhat convincing, which lets them persuade at least some others that their position is correct.
Did you miss the entire Trump presidency? People love that sort of thing. Facts are difficult, inscrutable things that have to be dug out of observations and carefully safeguarded. They often tend to be disappointing. Whereas lies and fantasies? Those are theatre.
Oh, and algorithmic timelines make this worse: correcting someone is promoting their original views to other people.