AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana; AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File
The Pizzagate conspiracy theory has been making a comeback, thanks to the now conspiracy theory-friendly platform Twitter/X. But there’s an even crazier conspiracy emerging behind the long-debunked conspiracy theory, according to those who believe in it: apparently, it’s running a secret operation on Etsy — the purveyor of handmade arts and crafts.
In a new report by Rolling Stone‘s Tim Dickinson, the usual suspects are spinning a theory that Etsy is allowing the sale and distribution of child pornography, claiming that strangely high-priced photos of pizza are a cover for the illegal items. Dickinson wrote:
This new conspiracy theory has emerged from the fecund muck of QAnon and Pizzagate — both of which hold that the world is run by an unaccountable cabal of satanic child sex traffickers, and both of which thrive on decoding of supposed secret messages. The fixation with pizza among conspiracy adherents stems from the belief that “cheese pizza” is predator code for child pornography or that pizza, generally,
can be a veiled reference to pedophilia.
“Web sleuths” who are associated with QAnon and the like claim to have found listings on the site (that are no longer available) such as “Pizza file” for $4,000, “Pizza Image” for $9,000, and “cheese PIZZA picture” for $3,000 from Etsy shops with names like “YummyYumPizza.”
Etsy told Rolling Stone that the shops were taken down because the weirdly high prices were in violation of their policies.
Pizzagate is the short name for the baseless conspiracy theory about alleged, secret child trafficking rings being led by powerful Democrats, including one that was being run in the basement of the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. The rampant internet claims, which were pushed by MAGA figures like Jack Posobiec, led one man to drive across state lines to “self-investigate” the supposed child trafficking ring at Comet Ping Pong and open fire on families having dinner at the restaurant in 2016.
The Etsy thing is easy bait for those who subscribe to the evidence-free theory. Liz Crokin, a known QAnon personality posted a screed on Twitter/X with the title: “IS CHILD TRAFFICKING TAKING PLACE ON ETSY?” She has posted several times about the theory to her 280,000 followers. But Dickinson also noted that “Crokin’s missive also indicated she also had an ax to grind with Etsy, alleging the
One of Crokin’s cohorts is Mike Flynn, former National Security Advisor under former President Donald Trump, who has gone full conspiracy nut since becoming a civilian. He retweeted Crokin’s post to his 1.4 million followers asking, “Why I’m not allowed to sell ‘Child Lives Matter’ products while you approve products that promote Satan!”
These kinds of posts are allowed to run unchecked on Twitter/X — but they’re gaining the attention of the guy who owns it, Elon Musk. Musk dipped his toe into the Pizzagate swamp, only to have his own users inform him that the whole thing was bunk.
But that didn’t stop Alex Jones, who was just reinstated on Twitter/X, and Infowars from pushing the theory even further, guaranteeing that the reach of the completely fabricated story will only grow.
A similar theory was made about home decor site Wayfair, which was accused by conspiracy theorists of being a secret child trafficking ring. That made it as far as the Department of Homeland Security, which found zero evidence that it was true.
Conspiracy theories are meant to be shocking, and they become even more shocking when they pop up in normally innocent places, like the site that sells your aunt’s side hustle of homemade candles or your friend’s necklaces for dogs. But as
Read the whole article at Rolling Stone.