pretending to be a dumbass is an excellent disguise and will fool many, including intelligent educated people , because who in their right mind would pretend to be a dumbass, eh.

the purpose of those first thought posts is to make all following discourse negative

it can also be directing the narrative or stopping further discussion

for example, petrochem shills will deny global climate change and demand proof

this means people will argue facts , facts that were proved decades ago

this is to stop people furthering the conversation and start to talk about action

Another example. Cigarette companies fighting like hell to keep advertising. This is to direct attention to advertising rather than further regulation.

A foreign adversary might spread stories that make citizens question their government. The earliest example I know of are the stories surrounding the assassination of JFK

and yes, making a population negative in out look, defensive and argumentative and divided is a part of psyops between adversaries.