Politicians, corporations, the Pope, anyone famous, become effigies of demons. They're so distanced from the millions of average people that conceptualizing them as non-human easily spreads en masse. It's no different than the manipulation the Nazis did to inspire social change (nice way to put it, right?) They made common enemies for people to spark their revolution. They made the enemies into 'subhumans' to make them acceptable targets for human aggressions.
Plus, people love a good underdog story. Some people look at those of status and wealth vs. everyday folk like the noble underdog vs. those 'corrupted' by power.
Being a conspiracy theorist is like interpretting a certain social-philosophical movie completely literally. Then tell themselves they're the only ones who 'get it,' They're not enlightened. They're uninsightful.
Real truth is always buried deeper...in layers of symbolism.