Status games meaning virtue signalling? What that means is pretending something that is commonly considered virtuous to whitewash your empty soul.

Saying people are duped or of malicious intent and giving some justification... How do you propose we stop the Ponzi schemes if we don't call them out?

Conflict sucks but the instigators of discord are the ones who make up bullshit and defraud people. Not the ones who call it out.