> Internet personality … posted to his 141,000 followers on social media platform … that photos showing standing trees provide proof that the U.S. government "is PURPOSELY setting fires using Military grade DEWs [direct energy weapons] in these areas to initiate a MASSIVE LAND GRAB."<p>People have to stop seeing this kind of thing as misinformation. This is, pure and simple, the modern scam business model. You are getting people to self-sort into groups: the marks and everyone else. Nigerian princes want to steal your money but can’t invest so much time per person to a random sampling of humans - they need to get the humans that have a 0% chance of success to drop out on their own. These conspiracy theory folks are only slightly more honorable. They are selling advertising space to the people selling snake oil, dubious supplements, prepper shit, garbage pillows, etc.<p>The advertising-based business model would never work out in normal channels; getting the audience to self-sort is the only thing that makes it work.