They might start out saying something just as a sick joke, and then they would get so much positive reinforcement for that joke, so many meaningless "internet points," as they called it, that they might start believing their own joke.
Puede que comiencen con alguna broma de mal gusto y después recibirían tal refuerzo positivo por esa broma, tantos puntos de internet sin sentido, que puede que comiencen a creerse sus propias bromas.