This analysis brings me back to the Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (Douglas et al.) which points to feeling in control of your life and your environment as one of the three big risk factors for conspiracy thinking (alongside social isolation and information overload).

I.e. If you feel as though you have no control over your life, you’re more likely to believe there are people pulling the strings behind the scenes (not always incorrectly!).

I think this adds more credence to the argument that misinformation is often the vehicle for deep, underlying beliefs and worldviews - influenced by things like agency and economics - rather than the primary driver of social and political ills.