Why wouldn’t they apply marketing/behavioral research to Politics? You’re not really making any outlandish claims. It’s okay to be aware of this, but like you said, if it makes you fall into conspiracy theories and black pill, it can also be dangerous.

Like I don’t think there’s any shadowy organization controlling the people. Why would they want to control people anyways, when they can control the system?

Let’s use psychiatry as an example, it’s meant to help people function better, but under capitalism it’s more beneficial to have a repeat customer, so it’s not outlandish to suggest some % of psychiatrists will avoid tackling problems in order to benefit their bottom line. If someone turns that into “The Illuminati are ordering our psychiatrists to ruin our society. Don’t go to a doctor!” - that’s reactionary thinking.