I don't think he's controlled opposition but I understand why that's a common theory. The "unhinged, tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist" is a basically a character he acts as, which is obvious to anyone who watches him regularly. The problem is one of external optics; that is, people understandably conflate this crazy self-strawman character with the many truthful things that he says, so in effect he poisons his own well. It's not clear to me why he thinks it's worth it to do this, as it makes it easy for leftists to dismiss him as crazy and for people on the right to dismiss him as controlled opposition. Charitably, anyone who questions the narrative presented by the MSM is bound to be dismissed as a "conspiracy theorist," "fear monger," etc. so he's just having fun with the trope while he advances his message to people who are able to see past the deliberate obfuscation