I blame the internet - either that or people really are getting thicker. In the old days there weren't that many and they just used to sit in the corners of pubs muttering to themselves. If you walked too close they'd grab you and say something like "Do you know every single commercial jet airliner carries an atomic bomb so that in the event of war they can immediately be converted into bombers?". Now they've all got websites and YouTube channels and they can achieve a level of critical mass by appealing to fellow idiots. As you say: scary how many fall for it.
I'm dreading 21st July, 50 years since the first moon landing. They might as well declare it World Idiot Day as we're going to be bombarded with people who can 'prove' that all six landings were faked.
The photos look shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.