Pizzagate
Pizzagate is a conspiracy theory that emerged in 2016, falsely alleging that high-ranking Democratic Party officials and members of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign were involved in a child sex trafficking ring, centered around a Washington D.C. pizzeria. There is no evidence to support the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and the claims that underlie it are farcical.
The theory was based on a series of hacked emails from John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman, which were released by Wikileaks. These emails contained references to cheese pizza and other foods, which conspiracy theorists claimed were code words for illegal activities. The theory was promoted on various online forums and social media platforms, and gained significant traction in the weeks leading up to the 2016 US presidential election.
In December 2016, a man armed with a rifle entered Comet Ping Pong, claiming he was there to investigate the conspiracy theory. No one was hurt, although the perpetrator fired several rounds into doors while trying to access the (non-existent) basement of the pizzeria[1]. After this event, many prominent promoters of Pizzagate, including Alex Jones and Jack Posobiec, distanced themselves from Pizzagate.
Pizzagate was a precursor of the far broader QAnon conspiracy theory, and many beliefs and influences flowed seamlessly between the two.
