I think you are half right - Stall, absolutely; false hope, no. It takes time to reverse decades of brainwashing. Think about how many things today are believed as consensus that were considered wild conspiracy theories 3 years ago. There were a lot of things that needed to happen to bring the population along to accept what will come. The worst isn't even over yet, unfortunately. I think we're headed for a major financial collapse and probably the brink of a nuclear war.