Not consciously, but deep down they have an awareness that they totally wrong about their beliefs. You don't see a truly innocent man sitting in the corner repeating over and over "I'm a good person. I didn't commit any crimes. I'm innocent." that's something someone who is guilty as fuck does. NPCs do this too. "We're the good guys. We're on the right side of history. This is progress. We trust science." It's a big part of why they define themselves as anti-badthing. Antifa, anti-racist. Anti-anti-vax. I'm not sure if this should be a separate point or included in #2, but NPCs are all midwits. They have a massive inferiority complex about their own midling intelligence. This is why they focus on credentialism, appeals to authority, and drive away or ban anyone smart. No matter how dumb you are you are aware of your place in the intelligence hierarchy. A street negro doesn't look at Neil Degrasse Tyson and say "Yo, that nigga dumb." They say "Yo, I aint got time for all that science, learning and shit." The NPCs on the other hand is not comfortable with his position. He'll spend all day trying to convince you and himself that he's Tyson's peer.