The silly title of our investigation and the extrememly silly definition both came from the NYTimes, whose only source for their definition (HRC running a sex slave ring frmo the basement of Comet) was a single comment underneath a post from some random guy on Facebook.
I detailed all of this in a series of 3 posts here on Voat, but they have disappeared. So it might be important to call more attention to some facts...
From Steemit: The Debunking of The New York Times' Debunking of Pizzagate
Analysis
We need only look at the first sentence of this supposedly objective article to uncover the first piece of misinformation.
In the span of a few weeks, a false rumor that Hillary Clinton
and her top aides were involved in various crimes snowballed
into a wild conspiracy theory that they were running a
child-trafficking ring out of a Washington pizza parlor.
No one--or at least no one credible--is asserting that Hillary Clinton and her top aides (meaning John Podesta and co.) are running a child-trafficking ring out of Comet Ping Pong Pizza. It has merely been alleged--and not without merit--that they are involved in a paedophile ring. It's also not a widely held theory that this child-trafficking ring is being run specifically out of Comet Ping Pong Pizza. A better representation of the theory would be to state that Comet is alleged to be a paedophile-friendly environment which invites paedophile-friendly bands to perform there, and has curious ties to the government establishment in Washington DC.
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MeatballPizza ago
"Pizzagate" was in wide use pre-NYT. It began on Reddit (The_Donald and later a specific thread dedicated to "Pizzagate" which was axed a few weeks in by Reddit). It was also active on 4chan. It was all an outgrowth of the "Spirit Cooking" discussions.
This was a Vietnam-style guerilla political warfare effort. Hillary was attacked with a number of funny memes (one highlighting her desire to have women register for the draft and serve in the military via a draft) and weaponized conspiracy theories.
There were great visuals with Spirit Cooking. Those could be memed and shared on facebook, 4chan, reddit, and emailed around. There was no way Hillary/Podesta could explain Satanic rituals as "art" to middle America. There was nothing they could say. Their rejection of legitimate questions was gasoline on that fire.
Then they really had no explanation for the Instagram photos and comments. So the stories ignored it. The memes and images circulated and there were no real explanations. The Podesta emails (his personal emails) with the odd pizza language had no real explanation. The art collection John's brother had was also repulsive and great images to win over voters.
This was a political 'shock and awe' campaign that spread like wildfire. It was particularly effective keeping African-American voters from showing up to support Hillary. Their record-shattering Obama turnout got him elected the second time around as that was a close race.
NYT denying it and Snopes, etc. debunking just showed they were part of the conspiracy. That's the beauty of a great conspiracy theory: if you deny it, you're part of the conspiracy.
Realizing how effective it was, Podesta decided to create their own conspiracy theory when they lost. Election night the great Russian Conspiracy Theory was born and we've been stuck there with the MSM ever since. There's no evidence the Russians ever hacked anything (DNC refused to hand over the servers; Lisa Page now says China did the actual hacking), but it doesn't matter. If you question our FBI/CIA, then you're part of the conspiracy. You're supporting the enemies of America. A plausible conspiracy theory as a political weapon.
Matt_Helm ago
Brilliant analysis you nailed it perfectly well done.