I had just had a nagging feeling/intuition for years that things weren't quite right

That part is really interesting. I hope this doesn't sound accusatory/patronizing/belittling (I mean well but it's a hard line to walk), but that's almost verbatim what I've read on how people adopt conspiratorial thinking in general:

Sociopolitical turbulence generates a feeling of “something must be wrong” — relentless urgency, unease, and fear of the inevitable or unknown. As a result, I have a deep distrust of officials, politicians, and other members of The-Powers-That-Be running the country and allegedly maintaining this uncomfortable status quo, individuals now assumed to have evil motives: the world is shaking because They are shaking it.

edit -- that came from this infographic