This shit has seriously gone on too long. People who continue to cling to the "10,000 dead crushed by tanks hosed i to the gutter" bs are cranks. It's jews control the banks, chemtrails, the earth is flat, the moon isn't real level of crank shit and unless you're feeling very indulgent and someone is asking in good faith it can be dismissed as equally serious to that kind of crank shit.
I can't believe I used to think like this and consider myself smart for it
There's a legit thing where "smart" people can be more susceptible to confirmation bias because they're skilled at finding patterns in information, but that doesn't mean the pattern is necessary real or significant. "Intelligence" (i am skeptical of the concept of a single intelligence trait) doesn't necessarily protect you from weird cognitive stuff.