NewsPoliticsA new Sky documentary that investigates some of the most mind-boggling conspiracy theories of recent years has been shining a new light on some of the most baffling fake news stories to come out of the US<\/p>\n
Friday, 12th June 2020, 1:23 pm<\/p>\n
After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News aired earlier this month, and surveys the effects of disinformation campaigns on social media and the impacts of well known conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n
One of those theories is that of Pizzagate, and the film follows the growth of the story on forums like Reddit and 4chan, how it was fomented by the alt-right and Alex Jones, and then translated into a real-life dangerous situation.<\/p>\n
Heres everything you need to know:<\/p>\n
Pizzagate was a widely discredited news story which linked Hilary Clintons presidential campaign with a fictional human trafficking ring.<\/p>\n
Its so-called because the alleged headquarters of the operation was the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C, which according to the conspiracy was also a meeting ground for Satanic ritual abuse.<\/p>\n
It all began in March 2016, when the personal email account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign manager, was hacked.<\/p>\n
WikiLeaks published the emails later that year; conspiracy theorists claimed the emails contained coded messages that alluded to human trafficking and a child sex ring.<\/p>\n
The emails contained multiple references to pizza and pizza restaurants, but there is no evidence that they are code or refer to anything else.<\/p>\n
Had the claims been true, it would have implicated a number of high-ranking Democratic Party officials.<\/p>\n
How was the story debunked?<\/p>\n
The story has been widely debunked by a number of fact checking a news organisations from across the political spectrum even Fox News has said the story is completely false.<\/p>\n
Theorists claimed that similarities between Comet Ping Pongs logo contained symbols linked to Satanism and paedophilia; the New York Times noted these similarities could be found in the logos of completely unrelated companies, if you looked hard enough.<\/p>\n
Claims of a secret underground network beneath Comet Ping Pong were disproven by the fact the establishment has no basement, and evidence that John Podesta played a part in the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann were simply sketches of a suspect taken from the descriptions of two eyewitnesses.<\/p>\n
No alleged victims have come forward and no physical evidence has been found.<\/p>\n
Despite the theory having zero evidence to support it, that didnt stop those who opposed Hilary Clinton believing the story wholesale.<\/p>\n
That included gunman Edgar Maddison Welch, who travelled down from South Carolina to confront the owners of Comet Ping Pong.<\/p>\n
He entered the pizza restaurant in Washington D.C. packed with families on a Sunday afternoon and fired an automatic rifle.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, no one was injured in the disturbance; Mr Welch told police he had driven from South Carolina to investigate the restaurant after reading online reports.<\/p>\n
Why is Comet Ping Pong back in the news?<\/p>\n
Though its been four years since the height of the Pizzagate story, the owners still have to deal with death threats and abuse.<\/p>\n
As employees continue to search for a new rhythm [during the coronavirus pandemic], say the Washington Post, they still field calls from Pizzagate obsessors.<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, someone jammed the phone line for an entire day, frustrating customers who struggled to place orders. [Comet] has received almost 70 Pizzagate messages in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
There also seems to be a renewed interest in the false story in the wake of news that US prosecutors want a face-to-face interview with Prince Andrew over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.<\/p>\n
The story has been trending on Twitter again, despite remaining completely untrue, with theorists linking Epsteins private jet the Lolita Express and his private Epstein Island with the restaurant.<\/p>\n
There is no evidence to suggest any of it is true.<\/p>\n
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