https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7bjpm/scientists-explain-why-doing-your-own-research-leads-to-buying-conspiracies

If you've ever found it puzzling that "do your own research" is a slogan for conspiracy theorists of all stripes, new research may have some answers.

While conventional wisdom holds that researching the veracity of fake news would reduce belief in misinformation, a study published on Wednesday in Nature has found that using online search engines to vet conspiracies can actually increase the chance that someone will believe it. The researchers point to a known problem in search called "data voids." Sometimes, there's not a lot of high-quality information to counter misleading headlines or surrounding fringe theories. So, when someone sees an article online about an “engineered famine” due to COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccines, and conducts an unsophisticated search based on those keywords, they may find articles that reaffirm their bias.