What is Pizzagate? Conspiracy theory explained
PIZZAGATE is a conspiracy theory that became viral in 2016, during the US presidential election.
Stemmed from social media, the theory said a pizzeria located in Washington DC is actually a child trafficking site run by Hilary Clinton and John Podesta.
What is the Pizzagate conspiracy theory?
A baseless rumor was circulated in 2016 that Hillary Clinton and other Democrats were heading up a child sex-trafficking ring out of a Washington pizzeria.
The conspiracy theory originated on 4chan and was based on emails hacked from the Democratic party and published by Wikileaks.
It stated that Hillary Clinton and her former campaign manager, John Podesta, ran a child sex ring at Comet Ping Pong in Washington.
The restaurant's owner, James Alefantis, a Democratic Party donor, appears in the emails in relation to organizing a Democratic fundraiser.
Users of 4chan and Reddit claimed that words in the emails - such as cheese and pizza - were code for young children and sex acts.
In December of the same year, a gunman with an assault rifle opened fire on the pizzeria's closet.
In the months leading up to this year's presidential election, the pizzagate conspiracy theory has resurfaced and rumors have been set alight by TikTok.
The conspiracy group QAnon is also promoting its pizzagate ideas on private Facebook groups.
Who was involved in the ‘pizzagate’ scandal?
Initially, Hillary Clinton, her campaign manager John Podesta, and pizzeria manager James Alefantis were targeted in the pizzagate scandal.
Nowadays, conspiracists are now convinced there is a whole spectrum of powerful figures involved in the alleged underage sex-trafficking ring, including the likes of Bill Gates, Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Bieber, and Oprah Winfrey.
Recently, fans of Justin Bieber believed the superstar singer was signaling to them after he was seen adjusting his beanie in an Instagram video.
A user asked him to touch his hat if he had been a victim of pizzagate.
Comments flooded in from his 130million followers and the resurgence of pizzagate theories started.
Globally, TikTok users have created videos analyzing his actions and the hashtag #savebieber began trending.
Justin has not made any comment on the unfounded rumors.
What is the Wayfair child trafficking conspiracy theory?
The Wayfair conspiracy theory is the belief that very expensive cabinets listed for sale on the company's website were actually missing children.
Conspiracists believe Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah stepped down from the company as a result of the alleged scandal, but he has not resigned.
"Is it possible Wayfair is involved in Human trafficking with their WFX Utility collection? Or are these just extremely overpriced cabinets? (Note the names of the cabinets) this makes me sick to my stomach if it's true," redditor PrincessPeach1987 posted on Thursday, according to .
Along with the redditor's statement, a screenshot was shared from Wayfair's website, showing cabinets - with first names that social media users say happen to be of missing young girls.
The cabinet's pictures were named Neriah, Yaritza, Alyvia, and Samiyah - which social media users discovered to be the names of the missing girls.
Suspicions arose after the cabinet listings were removed from Wayfair's website - shortly after the posts became viral.
One user took to Twitter to write "People are suspecting that they're selling people in these large boxes/storage cabinets on Wayfair. They are all the same product but have different names, all female names.
And they are all priced $10-$15k more than the cabinet sold elsewhere," with the hashtag #ChildTrafficking.
The Wayfair conspiracy theories come a year after 500 Wayfair employees walked out of the company's Boston headquarters.
The walkout took place after employees learned that Wayfair had profited off selling beds to detention centers holding migrant children.
In a statement to Newsweek in 2020, a spokesperson for Wayfair said: "There is, of course, no truth to these claims.
"The products in question are industrial grade cabinets that are accurately priced.
"Recognizing that the photos and descriptions provided by the supplier did not adequately explain the high price point.
"We have temporarily removed the products from site to rename them and to provide a more in-depth description and photos that accurately depict the product to clarify the price point."
Entrepreneurs Niraj Shah and Steve Conine founded Wayfair in August 2002 and established its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
Wayfair currently sells 10 million products annually.
that the company’s net revenue generated in 2017 was $4.7billion.
Conspiracists believe Shah has resigned from his position in light of Wayfair's trafficking allegations posted to Reddit.
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One tweet, now deleted, said: "The CEO of #Wayfair has resigned. Of course, that’s normal when you are guilty of selling KIDS on your website disguised as cheap furniture."