You know how abuse produces abusers that perpetuate that abuse? That but on a national level.

Hey we may be dumb, and we may be exposed to constant propaganda, but...

What was the third thing you said?

this is so underrated. even smart people can do stupid things. but that's only half of the story... second half is culture (and here even european countries are not much better). in real life it is almost always worth more to look strong than to be smart. changing your opinion does not make you look strong - it makes the "other" person look like they've won an argument and that makes you look both weak (you didn't stand your ground) and stupid (you didn't know better). this is both entirely nonsense and perfectly understandable due to the culture (deeper level than propaganda). so nobody who makes it somewhere wants to do it. they will rather invent opposing false story and bend over backwards trying to defend it than concede a point to their percieved opponents... which brings us - here.