It's worth noting that there definitely is such a thing as the 'deep state', it's just that it's not some crazy thing about lizards and aliens, rather, it's jus the simple fact that anyone outside the established consensus will be perceived with hostility and the operating organs of state will systematically move to reject them.

In Canada, we have something call the 'Laurentian Consensus' - which is basically Ottawa/Toronto/Montreal traditional, small-c conservative centre left, very establishment view of the world, propagated systematically by most of the bureaucracy, national banks, established systems, academia.

When you live in Ontario or Quebec, it doesn't seem obvious.

But when you live outside Ontario or Quebec, it becomes really quite obvious.

I do not believe a guy like Donald Trump has the best interest of the nation at heart, even if he thinks he does, and there's probably good reason the 'deep state' is rejecting his many appeals to authority. After all, the ultimate apparatus of the 'deep state' are literally things like 'the Justice System' etc..

But at least, theoretically, there is something to be said for it, and there are actual material concerns about individual expression vs. more statist and globalist forces.

The European Union bestows incredible power upon unelected leaders. Very few people vote in EU elections, their 'elected' MEPs do not really have a say in who the leadership will be. Not until the treaty of Lisbon were the elite even required to consult elected MEPs! Now, it's just ceremonial. Ursula Von Der Leyen, one of the most powerful people in the world was not on the ballot or even a known figure during the election. She was chosen after the election in back room, completely non-transparent deals by the French PM, German Chancellor etc.. MEP's cannot enact legislation, they have no say in executive level conduct. In the last 10 years, two elected leaders (Greece, Italy) were effectively overthrown without real legal and certainly no democratic legitimacy. So this is an example of where I think most of the elite do in fact have 'mostly good intentions', but wherein the lack of democracy and transparency lends very credibility to populist concerns of 'deep state'.

The 'nature of power' in politics and business is very opaque, and a little bit hard to understand without exposure to it, and there actually is no 'one power', nobody really is in control, it's more about understanding the memes that interest the elite than anything. Which is not an easy to communicate idea. Hence - Lizards and Aliens.

Insane populists, with a few bad actors who don't mind knowingly spreading falsehoods, take advantage of this and make stuff up.

I don't think this is a new phenom, it's as old as time, it's just that the 'rumour mill' has metastasised.

If the proles ever were truly 'educated' as to how our financial and political system worked, here probably would be a real revolution, maybe a 'good one'. But until then, it's a mess.

Finally - it's a serious issue. I have University educated friends asking me 'if I believe this stuff' trying to determine the legitimacy of it, without being able to write it off themselves.

We are entering a new ere wherein in the fiction of pop culture consciousness, nothing needs to be factual to have weight, and nobody is really in charge.

I really think that most libertarians and anarcho-socialists etc thought we'd have some kind of enlightened utopia, but really we get mostly Lizards and Aliens.