Groupthink in action right there . Textbook case of idiots confirming each other ' s stupidity and noone wanting to add a dissenting voice , lest they be marginalized from the group . Everything is a hoax , everything is a conspiracy theory , no matter how much evidence there is , no matter how things look . I can ' t believe it , so it isn ' t true ! Dissonance reduction all around . <| sep |> You didn ' t read it did you . The tall poppy syndrome is a culture where people of high status are resented , attacked , cut down or criticised because they have been classified as better than their peers . This is similar to begrudgery , the resentment or envy of the success of a peer . The term has been widely used in all the Anglosphere nations .