Could have started that way, but it seems to have gone beyond that. I'd recommend watching Beyond the Curve (2018) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8132700/
I pay no attention this stuff so it's all unfamiliar to me, hence my curiosity I guess...
But how do you know that the people you're interacting with on FB aren't trolls having a joke at your expense?
I get that there are some people who take it seriously, but I'm not sure it'd be easy to tell the difference between a believer and a troll in an online forum.
I don't know they have normal profile of middle-class americans. Why so many people would they lose time doing so much trolling without clear profit ? Occam razor is my call here.
Also as Einstein said: there really only two things infinite: the universe and people's stupidity.