Nov 25, 2025
Most ViewedWhat is pizza gate
Pizzagate is a widely debunked conspiracy theory from 2016 that falsely alleged a Washington, D.C. pizzeria — Comet Ping Pong — was the hub of a Democratic Party–run child sex-trafficking and pornogra...
Edgar Maddison Welch
American
Fact-Checks
8 resultsNov 26, 2025
Most ViewedWhat was the origin and timeline of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory?
Pizzagate began in late 2016 after hackers released John Podesta’s emails and online users on anonymous forums and Reddit misinterpreted mentions of food as coded language; a Reddit “evidence” documen...
Jan 31, 2026
Most ViewedHow did the Pizzagate conspiracy theory involve John Podesta's emails?
sprang from the of hacked campaign emails in 2016, when internet investigators claimed benign phrases and social posts in those emails were “coded” references to child sex trafficking centered on pizz...
Nov 23, 2025
How was Comet Ping Pong restaurant implicated in Pizzagate allegations?
Comet Ping Pong was falsely identified by online users as the center of the “Pizzagate” child‑sex trafficking conspiracy after hacked John Podesta emails and forum sleuthing tied vague phrases and soc...
Nov 2, 2025
What happened at pizzagate?
Pizzagate was a debunked conspiracy alleging a Washington, D.C., pizzeria—Comet Ping Pong—was the center of a child-sex trafficking ring tied to Democratic officials; the claim began with misreadings ...
Feb 3, 2026
What was pizza-gate?
was a baseless online conspiracy that emerged in late 2016, alleging that high-ranking Democratic officials ran a child-sex trafficking and pornography ring out of a , pizzeria called ; the claim was ...
Feb 2, 2026
What role did 4chan, Reddit, and social media amplification play in converting isolated Podesta phrases into the Pizzagate conspiracy?
The narrative began as pattern-seeking readers parsing ’s leaked emails and was seeded on ’s /pol/ before being amplified and refined on and broader social platforms, where meme-driven tactics, partis...
Nov 16, 2025
What are the real-world consequences of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory for the owners of Comet Ping Pong?
The Pizzagate conspiracy produced sustained online and real-world harm to Comet Ping Pong: its owners and staff received hundreds of threatening messages and death threats, nearby businesses were hara...