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If there’s one thing history teaches us, it’s that stupidity—the real, committed, group-endorsed stupidity—is far harder to dismantle than malice. The kind I'm talking about is not referring to IQ, but the deliberate surrender of critical thought in exchange for belonging. Dietrich Bonhoeffer figured this out decades ago with one of his most famous theories: The Theory of Stupidity—and I’m starting to think he was lowballing the rate of just how much this theory could apply in the most dysfunctional systems of the modern years. Blind Loyalty Recently, Vice Ganda cracked a satirical joke at her SuperDivas concert, poking fun at Duterte’s infamous bravado back in 2016 to plant the Philippine flag in the West Philippine Sea himself using a jetski. "Nothing beats a jet ski holiday! Right now, from Manila to the West Philippine Sea. Get unlimited water bombing from Chinese vessels and a free trip to The Hague by the ICC. Promo applies to DDS only. Pinklawans and BBMs are prohibited." A reality of comedy is that it is inherently political. To any reasonable human, this is just a comedian doing their job. But within hours, petitions surfaced to declare Vice Ganda persona non grata in Davao. In just 6 days, over 200,000 Die-hard Duterte Supporters (DDS) initiated a mass unfollowing over a joke. A single joke. If your loyalty is so selective that it's triggered by this kind of humor over the numerous killings of your leader—you might not be protecting a legacy, but your own deranged ideations. Nine years after Duterte became president, any perceived jabs at him still provoke an avalanche of rage from his most dedicated supporters. And no, this isn’t a uniquely Filipino thing. The United States has Donald Trump’s MAGA fandom running on the same “loyalty over logic” fuel. This rise came from the long legacy of patronage politics and social needs. From the Spanish encomienda system to barangay officials trading rice sacks for votes, we’ve been taught to equate loyalty with survival. Motivated Reasoning & Cognitive Miserliness A Philippine study in 2020 showed that Duterte supporters were more likely to believe statements attributed to him—even after being told they were false—than to change their minds. People engaged in motivated reasoning dismiss any opposing facts as “fake news” and cling to excuses. And because of cognitive miserliness, the brain tends to naturally take shortcuts. We look at things through the nearest, most accessible lens even if we sacrifice the prescription grade. Why read an ICC report on extrajudicial killings when you can hit “like” on a Facebook meme blaming it all on the “dilawan”? Father Figure Narrative In Filipino culture, the idea of a strong, disciplinarian father is common. Duterte, with his gruff style and promise to “discipline” criminals, fit that role perfectly in many minds. Supporters affectionately call him ‘Tatay Digong’ and excuse his flaws the way one might forgive an overbearing dad. As Aries Arugay, political science professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, explains, DDS simply won’t criticize their “father,” choosing instead to “close their eyes” to his faults, believing he has their best interests at heart. Technology and Disinformation The rise of AI tools has accelerated the spread of propaganda among Duterte’s supporters. Deepfake videos, ranging from fabricated interviews to manipulated photographs, circulate widely on social media, often without scrutiny. In one notable case, Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa shared an AI-generated, TikTok-style video depicting students expressing support for Sara Duterte. The clip garnered millions of views before fact-checkers confirmed it was fabricated, yet many viewers accepted it as authentic. In another instance, the sister of a drug war victim was shocked to see an AI-manufactured clip of her deceased brother on Facebook. The government’s own press office has acknowledged that when false content is shared—more so from high-ranking officials—it “creates doubts and further erodes trust.” The result is a media saturated with misinformation that obscures facts and discourages any hope for us for critical inquiry. Social & Cultural Influence The Philippines has about 67 million Facebook users, and a 2017 survey found 87% of social-media users trust it more than traditional news. Facebook’s algorithms are designed to show you what posts, videos, or memes engage you most and align with your views. Over time, two separate “public spheres” form: Duterte fans mostly see Duterte-approved content, and everyone else sees the opposite. People end up feeding on the same slanted stories. When an idea (like “the drug war saved lives”) is repeated over and over on your feed, you start to accept it without question. This digital fortification marries painfully well with Filipino group psychology. For many Filipinos, belonging to a group is deeply reassuring. According to Montiel and Chiongbian (1991), Filipinos “become confident only when they are part of a larger group,” explaining fierce loyalties to party or leader. Therefore, the DDS identity is worn like a badge for many of them. Once you see yourself as a Duterte loyalist, you classify any Duterte opponent as an enemy. This mindset makes it easier to forgive or even endorse the leader’s worst actions (massacres, bullying journalists, sexist remarks, etc.) while demonizing critics at the same time. In Duterte’s narrative, drug suspects became less than human or "enemies of society” worthy of violence, so DDS echoed this by morally disengaging in order to live with what they once might have condemned. In short, Duterte’s supporters didn’t wake up one day as monsters; they were human beings who moralized the drug war, dehumanized victims, and shifted blame entirely onto “criminals". Theory of Stupidity Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s reflections on “collective stupidity” resonate sharply with our current political environment. Bonhoeffer emphasized that stupidity is less an intellectual shortcoming than a moral collapse that flourishes under authoritarian regimes. When confronted with a “strong upsurge of power,” individuals often relinquish independent thought, reverting to empty slogans and motionless puppets on a string. In such a state, he observed, “reasons fall on deaf ears and facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed.” Under these conditions, even blatant wrongs can be rationalized. For example: to confront the public with the brutality of the drug war, priests of Baclaran Church—a well-known parish in Metro Manila—filled its entrance with photographs of recent killings back in December 2016. Throughout the duration of this display, onlookers dismissed them with remarks like, “they probably were addicts and deserved to die.” Bonhoeffer warned that such “stupid” individuals can commit or condone grave injustices without perceiving them as wrong. This follows a pattern mirrored in pro-Duterte blogs that dismiss victims as “fake” or blame them entirely for their fate. The effect is the quiet surrender of critical reasoning, replaced by uncritical loyalty that shields the leader while condemning anyone who thought the opposite. Understanding the mechanisms behind the DDS mentality helps us unravel the reasons behind their behaviors. As citizens and netizens, we need to recognize these patterns. Calling the DDS blind or “stupid” misses the point. There are actual social-psychological forces that play a major part in the development of this mindset. When a meme goes viral, it often preys on our lazy cognition and our fears. We form communities around those memes, and soon we’re eating them for breakfast. And as Bonhoeffer warns, arguing facts into an entranced mind is “senseless and dangerous”. So instead of labeling, maybe we do better to ask: what unmet needs and fears are being played here? Because in my journey of dismantling the DDS mentality, I acknowledged a bitter truth: you can’t reason someone out of a belief they didn’t reason themselves into. Unpacking these factors shows how grievances, culture, and smart (or sinister) use of technology blend to create a dysfunctional system of beliefs. It’s a tough challenge for anyone who cares about democracy and truth. But if we can laugh at jetski jokes together, maybe we can also possess the same wit to challenge these harmful ideas for the betterment of our future.