Conspiracy theories don't come from thinking one is smarter, but rather from a lack of trust. When somebody (or some entity) says something, how you respond to them is not only based on your perception of their knowledge, but also on your perception of the trustworthiness. It's somewhat of a tautology to say that as decline in trust of US institutions declines, lack of believing in what these institutions says also declines.
And trust in US institutions is not just randomly declining either. We just seem to have largely removed the social mores on lying and manipulation, so long as it can be used to push an agenda. If the powers that be want to reclaim public trust then there needs to be a much greater effort to increase transparency, honesty, hold open debate on all topics, and also hold groups accountable for misleading or lying to individuals. Instead we seem to be going rapidly in the exact opposite direction, and it's not difficult to predict the outcome.
And trust in US institutions is not just randomly declining either. We just seem to have largely removed the social mores on lying and manipulation, so long as it can be used to push an agenda. If the powers that be want to reclaim public trust then there needs to be a much greater effort to increase transparency, honesty, hold open debate on all topics, and also hold groups accountable for misleading or lying to individuals. Instead we seem to be going rapidly in the exact opposite direction, and it's not difficult to predict the outcome.