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.
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.
Conspiracists believe Shah has resigned from his position in light of Wayfair's trafficking allegations posted to Reddit.
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."