It seems like conspiracy theorists have the subconscious impression that various people are "on the payroll", that they appear in some gigantic pyramidal org chart in a Rothschild mansion, and that instructions appear every morning in a text from the CIA or some such thing. I would say that these various "revolts" we're seeing is evidence that the situation is far more subtle.

Specifically, these people are influenced by various means, pushed and pulled without touching, like magnetic fields. In most or almost all cases, what they do is their own idea, rather than commandments handed down from above. The insidious part is that the whole time, they think of themselves as good people doing the right thing, or at least doing that which is necessary under the circumstances. To whatever extent they are corrupted, they have corrupted themselves and have no chains to pull against or even to show you. All in all, diabolical.

The problem with that system of free will, of course, is that they can choose to walk out of the cage at any time, because there was no cage to begin with.