>This is just one giant misinformation campaign directed towards derailing informed consent and an informed electorate

alternative theory: they look for fringe topics trending and picked up the narrative to drive views.

Quite possible, why not amplify the shit already out there, that outsources the one part that is hard to do with bots.

Because it adds no value to the mission of RT news (which is to spread influence) since it doesn't expose the targeted audience to the other articles on RT news with higher propaganda value (like coverage on syria).

I spend several hours everyday reading various reasonably trusted sources and I still feel that I'm under informed about truly important things.

And that's the elegance of it. Think about a room where people are having a conversation. Somewhere in the room a fight breaks out over an absolutely ridiculous theory, but still, good luck continuing your conversation. Now imagine that wherever you go people will butt in on your conversation and try to derail it. Before long you won't be able to have any conversations in public at all. Especially not ones that come to some kind of reasonable conclusion or balanced viewpoint.

Just like with any good bar brawl by the time it gets underway for real nobody knows who they are fighting or what they were fighting for or who started it. For all you know the people that started it are already in another bar doing the same thing.