This sounds ridiculously petty, but what if some of the knot antis are just bitter you've been recognized by the band more than they ever will be?
I think you might have a wee bit of a point there. I've had people get properly mad and call me liar over meeting them and the corey incident, and im just like eh sorry for being a teenager in the late 90s/early 00s, and even silly things like sid liking the tattoo a friend got of him that i drew on instagram. I've already had two asks in my inbox since last night saying shit along the lines of "It's just tortilla guy, it's not that big a deal" which i blocked instantly bc way to shit on someones buzz guys. And the thing about all these situations is that they always end up bringing up my fics and stuff at the same time, like "ew imagine writing porn about a real person you claim to have met, that's creepy", or in the case of last night, thinking a stupid doodle is good just cos he liked it on instagram
Idk but i think your theory has merit, and I don't think it's petty. Antis are the petty ones