-People used to think witches were real way before the internet.
-People made up all sorts of imaginary tales about God and demons before the internet
-People used to think there were sea monsters before the internet
-Fake doctors used to sell snake oil because people believed it would really heal them before the internet
-Indians used to smoke pcp and make shyt up before the internet.
-People thought the world was gonna end Y2K
Internet or no internet, people are still gonna be dumb. But at least the internet debunks a lot of bad beliefs and talking points.
1 through 5 still exist with the internet, some of them are even having revivals.
And a lot of people were scared of the world ending in 2012, you must have forgotten.