Pizzagate

'Pizzagate' refers to a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton is secretly involved in a pedophile network whose crime hub is a Washington pizzeria, the Comet Ping Pong. This theory, circulating among the pro-Trump American conspiracy far-right, is based on a distorted reading of Democratic Party emails. John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, would have coded a number of his exchanges relating to pizza orders to conceal the trafficking of children reduced to sexual slavery in the basement of a pizzeria owned by a man named James Alefantis, who is also a sponsor of the Democratic Party.

In 2016, in the midst of the presidential campaign, this conspiracy theory initially appeared on the platforms 4chan and Reddit, and spread on several conspiracy sites and blogs as well as on Facebook and X. It culminated with a man armed with an assault rifle bursting into James Alefantis' place of business in December 2016.

(Last updated on 01/08/2024)