By Adrian Coleman

Something dangerous is happening to people and I am not sure society fully understands how serious it has become.

We are living in an era where misinformation has become entertainment and conspiracy theories have become a substitute for critical thinking. The Internet has created millions of self proclaimed experts who confidently speak on celebrities, religion, politics, business, and psychology despite having absolutely no real knowledge or proximity to the people they are discussing.

The scary part is not simply that misinformation exists. Misinformation has always existed. The frightening part is how emotionally attached people have become to things they cannot prove.

Recently I had a conversation with a woman who began passionately explaining why the Met Gala was supposedly demonic. She started trying to connect the word Met to some dark spiritual meaning she had heard online. Before she could even finish her sentence I stopped her and asked a simple question.

“Do you even know what Met stands for?”

She froze.

I explained that the Met Gala is short for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in New York City. Metropolitan. That is literally what the word means in that context. The conversation stopped dead in its tracks because she suddenly realized she was repeating an Internet theory she had never actually researched for herself.

That moment perfectly captured where society is right now.

People hear something online and immediately adopt it as truth without even taking five minutes to verify basic information.

During another conversation a very intelligent young woman told me that Blue Ivy was allegedly allowed into the Met Gala because powerful people are grooming her to replace Beyoncé as a sacrifice. I sat there genuinely shocked. Not because I was offended but because this is how far the Internet rabbit hole has gone. A successful educated woman was confidently repeating something so absurd that it sounded like dialogue from a science fiction movie.

And yet she believed it.

This is what happens when people consume endless streams of emotionally manipulative content from strangers online who profit from outrage paranoia and fear.

Now to be fair I understand why people are skeptical these days.

The revelations surrounding the Epstein files have shaken public trust. We have learned that some wealthy and powerful people have indeed been involved in disturbing illegal and morally disgusting behavior. That reality has caused many people to question institutions celebrities politicians and even religion itself. I understand that completely. History has shown us that power can corrupt people.

Healthy skepticism is normal.

Questioning systems is normal.

Holding powerful people accountable is necessary.

But somewhere along the way skepticism turned into fantasy role playing.

People now speak about celebrities as if they personally know their hearts motives business dealings and private lives despite never having met them worked with them or even shared the same room with them.

That is where this becomes dangerous.

I recently heard a woman say that comedian and actor Kevin Hart had been “bought and sold.” Bought and sold by who? Based on what evidence? How could she possibly know that? She does not know that man personally. She does not know his intentions. She does not know his business decisions. She has never walked a single minute in his shoes. Yet she spoke with complete certainty because somebody online planted the idea in her head.

The same thing constantly happens to Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Every week there is a new theory. They are devil worshippers. They control secret organizations. They manipulate artists. They sacrifice people. Meanwhile there is rarely any evidence beyond edited videos dramatic music and emotionally charged commentary from content creators who have never interacted with these people in real life.

I even watched someone criticize Jay Z because he sold businesses and ownership stakes over the years. The person argued that he used his fans because he exited profitable ventures. That statement alone revealed how disconnected many people are from reality. Buying low and selling high is literally how business works. Entrepreneurs build companies. Investors grow assets. Businesses merge and sell every single day in America. That is capitalism. Yet social media has empowered people with zero business experience to loudly criticize billion dollar strategies they do not remotely understand.

The Internet rewards this behavior because outrage spreads faster than facts.

A calm explanation rarely goes viral.

Paranoia does.

Fear does.

Conspiracy does.

People are becoming emotionally addicted to believing they possess hidden knowledge. It gives them a false sense of superiority and intelligence. Unfortunately many of them are becoming disconnected from logic in the process.

We are watching people lose their ability to separate speculation from reality.

Research has been replaced by reaction.

Evidence has been replaced by emotion.

Common sense has been replaced by algorithms.

Again this does not mean powerful people should never be questioned. They absolutely should. But accusations without proof are reckless. Repeating theories about people you have never met is irresponsible. Assigning evil intentions to strangers based on TikTok videos and YouTube breakdowns is not intelligence.

It is information overload.

And in many cases it is driving people into paranoia disguised as awareness.

At some point we have to return to basic reasoning. We have to relearn how to think critically before speaking so confidently about people whose lives we know absolutely nothing about. Because once society loses its grip on facts and logic everybody becomes vulnerable to manipulation.

That is not enlightenment.

That is chaos.