"Vladimir Lenin once said, “The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.” The term “controlled opposition” isn’t widely used, but when it is nowadays, it typically refers to the likes of Alex Jones. The theory is that Jones, and other conspiracy theorists like him, by distracting his followers with paranoia and misinformation about fake conspiracies like the Sandy Hook massacre and 9/11, disempowers them and neuters their ability to effectively oppose real systemic forces that actually have tangible negative effects on their lives. In this example, the controlled opposition functions as a sensationalistic side show in which real world problems of oligarchy, militarism, and authoritarianism are caricatured to such extremes that people feel powerless to resist them."