Comment by trawy081225

That relies on two assumptions that I don't think are true at all:

1. Most people who follow these beliefs will pay attention to/care about the man behind the curtain.

2. Most people who follow these beliefs will change their mind when shown that the man behind the curtain is a charlatan.

If anything, history shows us the opposite. Even in the modern world, it's easy for people to see that other people's thought leaders are charlatans, very difficult to see that our own are.