I'm shocked at the attention this post has been receiving in the past 12 hours. Wikipedia provides an excellent overview of the origins of the Protocols as a compendium of plagerisms from numerous sources dating back to the late 1800s and culminating in a publication in 1903 purporting to be a translation of the original document. It appears to be a hoax designed to arouse hatred of Jews by convincing the gullible public that jews had designs to rule the world and make slaves of non-jews. Hitler used the Protocols effectively as a propaganda device and Henry Ford did the same. The notion of controlling politicians via sexual blackmail predated the the Protocols which were allegedly based upon a meeting of Jewish elders at the very end of the 19th century while the Illuminatis date back to the late 1700s. Historians regard the Protocols as a hoax albeit one with serious political consequences. Why does it strike such a cord with Pizzagaters? I guess it provides a worldview and an explanation for the source of the evil we are supposed to be investigating. But I see little gain perhaps because I'm a pragmatic person. Please move on.