Stories like Omega or Q involve a huge number of people waiting for a world-changing moment that would never happen. When their predictions fail to come true, though, they commit to their beliefs even more, stunning people outside the movement who could see that they had been fooled. The question of why people believe conspiracy theories, even hurting their own interests in the process, has become a pressing one in a time where conspiracy theorists commit violence, destroy family relationships, and encourage one another to refuse vaccines.
