The saga of 'Pizzagate': The fake story that shows how conspiracy theories spread

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Good article on this and the spread of conspiracy theories in general. Unfortunately, this one led to what could have been a tragedy when an armed gunman "fired a rifle inside a popular Washington, D.C., pizza place as he attempted to "self-investigate" a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring from there"

The saga of 'Pizzagate': The fake story that shows how conspiracy theories spread - BBC News

No victim has come forward. There's no investigation. And physical evidence? That doesn't exist either.

But thousands of people are convinced that a paedophilia ring involving people at the highest levels of the Democratic Party is operating out of a Washington pizza restaurant.

The story riveted fringes of Twitter - nearly a million messages were sent last month using the term "pizzagate".

So how did this fake story take hold amongst alt-right Trump supporters and other Hillary Clinton opponents?

Let's start with the facts.

In early November, as Wikileaks steadily released piles of emails from Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta, one contact caught the attention of prankster sites and people on the paranoid fringes.

James Alefantis is the owner of Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in Washington. He's also a big Democratic Party supporter and raised money for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He was once in a relationship with David Brock, an influential liberal operative.

Alefantis - who's never met Clinton - appeared in the Podesta emails in connection with the fundraisers.

And from these thin threads, an enormous trove of conspiracy fiction was spun.​

I'm fairly certain I saw a couple of Trump Tards create threads about this place right before the election. It's amazing the stupid shit stupid people can be made to believe.

It is amazing. I think social media and the internet just makes it easier.

My buddy and I just had a conversation over the weekend that we can't determine whether social media has made everyone dumber or if its existence has simply revealed just how stupid everyone actually is and always has been.

 

[Manonthestreet]

The fact that John Podesta likes to eat pizza is not secret evidence that he's a pedophile.

It's all bullshit. You can see that, can't you?

But you see if you look at the language you will understand. Pepperoni refers to the character Pepper from Modern Family who is a gay. Also Pep is what you have when you are younger. Bobby Brown did a song called Tender Roni speaking of love.

So if you look at it, when someone says Pepperoni they could be ordering a topping. But the smart ones know that Pepperoni refers to Loving a small active child.

Nice false connection there guy......can you address the child rape art proudly on display

Sure. It doesn't exist.

I've been to Comet Ping Pong. There is no "child rape art" on display there.

In the podestas homes

There's no "child rape art" in the Podesta's homes, either.

Obviously not following anything but our talking points

 

[Manonthestreet]

Its not enough that they believe a child sex abuse ring was run out of a pizza place but now they want you to believe that someone would have child rape art (whatever the hell that is) in their homes too.

I bet its behind a spin around bookcase thats only accessible when you insert a child sized skull in the mantel

Prominently displayed enough for pictures to be seen in social media

 

[Slade3200]

Using your logic would it be fair to ask where Bill Clintons accusers went? In your eyes, does their absence from the headlines prove that their stories are "Fake News" as well?

you dodged my question... Take "fake news" out of my question and substitute "legitimate"

 

[Slade3200]

I haven't said a word about it... you just brought it up, I responded. Don't give me that conspiracy BS many of the victims told friends and family about it right after it happened but like most assault victims they didn't want to be in the public eye. It makes sense to come forward when the guy is a step away from the White House... does it not to you?

So where did they go?

Where would they go? They told their stories, Trump got elected, I assume they are trying to go about their lives... What would you like to see them do?

They were so upset, they bawled all over the media...then poof. Think hard

Again i'll ask, what would you like to see them do? And if Bill Clintons accusers aren't doing what you want Trumps accusers to be doing to validate their claims then your conclusions must apply to them as well. Correct?

They can do whatever they choose to do, your problem is YOU want to decide what is "fake news" and what is not. Idiot

In todays world we ALL have to choose what news is fake and real. I don't trust anything I hear.

 

[Manonthestreet]

None of which is proof of anything other than degeneracy.....there is no smoking gun......Say enough to get the govt investigating and if the public supposedly cant understand emailgate this has no shot unless more breaks,,,,,,Correct me if I'm wrong.....libs have accused the Bushes of this many times

 

[JimH52]

Fake news, real violence: 'Pizzagate' and the consequences of an Internet echo chamber

Nice....the cult members just gobble up all these lies.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Its not enough that they believe a child sex abuse ring was run out of a pizza place but now they want you to believe that someone would have child rape art (whatever the hell that is) in their homes too.

I bet its behind a spin around bookcase thats only accessible when you insert a child sized skull in the mantel

Prominently displayed enough for pictures to seen in social media

SURE THING! That's why you haven't posted it because it's all over the place. Smh

 

[pismoe]

already talked about , judged to be unimportant as this loon is just the cost of living in a FREE Country where all sorts of FREE Speech is uttered JimH !!

 

[Uncensored2008]

Fake news, real violence: 'Pizzagate' and the consequences of an Internet echo chamber

Nice....the cult members just gobble up all these lies.

So what did the Washington Post or CNN run that caused gun fire? I was thinking it was the Soros/Jill Stein recount bullshit...

 

[BULLDOG]

The top 20 fake news stories outperformed real news at the end of the 2016 campaign

 

[MisterBeale]

Fake News and War Party Lies
Fake News and War Party Lies - Antiwar.com Original
http://original.antiwar.com/buchanan/2016/12/01/fake-news-war-party-lies/
Who misled, deceived, and lied about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, the "fake news" that sucked us into one of our country’s greatest strategic blunders?


Who lied for years about an Iranian nuclear weapons program, which almost dragged us into a war, before all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies debunked that propaganda in 2007 and 2011?


Yet, there are those, here and abroad, who insist that Iran has a secret nuclear weapons program. Their goal: war with Iran.


Were we told the whole truth about the August 1964 incident involving North Vietnamese gunboats and U.S. destroyers Maddox and C. Turner Joy, which stampeded Congress into voting a near-unanimous resolution that led us into an eight-year war in Southeast Asia?


One can go back deeper into American history.


Cong. Abe Lincoln disbelieved in President Polk’s claim that the Mexican army had crossed the Rio Grande and "shed American blood upon American soil." In his "spot" resolution, Lincoln demanded to know the exact spot where the atrocity had occurred that resulted in a U.S. army marching to Mexico City and relieving Mexico of half of her country.


Was Assistant Navy Secretary Theodore Roosevelt telling us the truth when he said of our blasted battleship in Havana harbor, "The Maine was sunk by an act of dirty treachery on the part of the Spaniards"?


No one ever proved that the Spanish caused the explosion.


Yet America got out of his war what T.R. wanted – Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, an empire of our own.


"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."

So said Winston Churchill, the grandmaster of fake news.

 

[JimH52]

Fake News is now reliable campaign strategy for future republican candidates. It is sort of swift boating using social media. Republican are so adept at fabricating stories.

 

[MisterBeale]

The American people now know who lie. Give it up.

 

[Kosh]

Fake news, real violence: 'Pizzagate' and the consequences of an Internet echo chamber

Nice....the cult members just gobble up all these lies.

Fake news got the town of Ferguson burned to the ground!

Silly far left drone!

 

[gipper]

The MSM is very good at faking news. They have been doing it for decades.

 

[JimH52]

The American people now know who lie. Give it up.

Yes, but the liar won while Hillary received over 2 million more votes.

 

[JimH52]

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/fake-news_writer_takes_some_cr.html

"I thought they'd fact-check it, and it'd make them look worse. I mean that's how this always works: Someone posts something I write, then they find out it's false, then they look like idiots," he said. "But Trump supporters -- they just keep running with it! They never fact-check anything! Now he's in the White House."

Despite saying he was unsure of whether he personally helped to elect Trump, Horner offered that he feels like he assisted the GOP nominee's campaign.


So stupid people believed all these fake news sites and voted Donnie in. GOTCHA...

 

[Wyatt earp]

Good article on this and the spread of conspiracy theories in general. Unfortunately, this one led to what could have been a tragedy when an armed gunman "fired a rifle inside a popular Washington, D.C., pizza place as he attempted to "self-investigate" a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring from there"

The saga of 'Pizzagate': The fake story that shows how conspiracy theories spread - BBC News

No victim has come forward. There's no investigation. And physical evidence? That doesn't exist either.

But thousands of people are convinced that a paedophilia ring involving people at the highest levels of the Democratic Party is operating out of a Washington pizza restaurant.

The story riveted fringes of Twitter - nearly a million messages were sent last month using the term "pizzagate".

So how did this fake story take hold amongst alt-right Trump supporters and other Hillary Clinton opponents?

Let's start with the facts.

In early November, as Wikileaks steadily released piles of emails from Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta, one contact caught the attention of prankster sites and people on the paranoid fringes.

James Alefantis is the owner of Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in Washington. He's also a big Democratic Party supporter and raised money for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He was once in a relationship with David Brock, an influential liberal operative.

Alefantis - who's never met Clinton - appeared in the Podesta emails in connection with the fundraisers.

And from these thin threads, an enormous trove of conspiracy fiction was spun.​

Thanks for the info I was wondering what everyone was babbling about with this "pizza gate" i didnt even know what it was... I didnt read anything about it .

 

[theDoctorisIn]

None of which is proof of anything other than degeneracy.....there is no smoking gun......Say enough to get the govt investigating and if the public supposedly cant understand emailgate this has no shot unless more breaks,,,,,,Correct me if I'm wrong.....libs have accused the Bushes of this many times

You think "the government" should investigate because you don't like Tony Podesta's taste in art?