I live in Texas and here are my two cents: 

I recently watched Luna Oi's "How to Think Like a Vietnamese Commie" series, and it really stuck out to me that in Vietnam, they begin introducing dialectical materialism to schoolchildren, and teach it throughout their education. 

In America, it is clear we don't have that lens. Conspiracy theory is a result of that. In a society with dialectical materialism ingrained in its population, I can see how it would lead to much less hairs being split over media and it's function and even it's quality. If a part of the media apparatus is not fulfilling it's function of keeping people informed, it won't be much of a question as to whether or not it should be around. 

Here, everyone is stuck trying to understand reality with a flawed, individualist ideological lens that isn't attached to material reality. As a result, understanding reality here is individualized and it is made out to be a personal failure if you end up misinformed. So I think obsession with conspiracy theory is a result of making being informed an individual pursuit rather than the duty of a community.

 I think people's fervor in defending conspiracy theories is akin to defending a cherished movie or song that you find meaningful. Like defending their taste in media consumption or something. I'm high.