It’s the human psychological trait of credulity. It’s something that gave us a survival advantage when we lived in small isolated hunter gatherer tribes. It’s the reason that we believe in deities . It’s the philosophical “problem of the other“ I know that you have a mind and that your mind works in a very similar way to mine. But I cannot know your mind. I have to infer or guess about your intentions based on your actions and words. If some some thing happens in nature like a lightning strike it is a human mental trait to ascribe that event to some consciousness or agent that had intent (agency).

This psychological trait of credulity can be exploited by nefarious types. And can be very dysfunctional when we are faced with dopamine and panic stimulating phenomena like social media