There are many times in life when one comes to a crossroads, being left to choose between two opposing ideologies. On one side of the situation stands the ignorant acceptance of what has always been, sometimes referred to as the blue pill. On the other side stands the acceptance of an unpleasant and life changing truth, known as the red pill. Conspiracy theorists frequently use this example to explain the disbelief in their theories, claiming that those who deny are just ignorantly accepting the normal, instead of questioning the true nature of things. This rhetoric rings true among the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, for all who believe are accepted into the select group of people who broke free from their chains and swallowed the red pill.
The Pizzagate theory first began to circulate late in the 2016 presidential election. This theory analyzed the leaked emails from John Podesta and found what some believed to be secret code for sexual misconduct with minors, oftentimes exchanged with prominent names from the Democratic party. One example of this perceived code is his use of the word “cheese pizza”, which is occasionally used in odd contexts within the emails. With a quick online check, one can find that the term “cheese pizza” is supposedly a replacement term for child pornography, although the sources for this claim are not reliable. Regardless, this alleged connection lead theorists to dig even deeper into the situation, which culminated with the allegation of a child sex-trafficking ring run by the Democratic party through a family-friendly pizza shop in Washington D.C. called Comet Ping Pong. While this claim appeared overtly ridiculous to many people, it still found traction within certain niche groups who used it as undeniable evidence of the corruption within the Democratic party.
By looking at the website pizzagate.com, one will quickly realize the ethos used by the creator of the website. Instead of trying to find credibility within undisputable evidence, he uses the inability to disprove him as the main source for his ethos. One of the first banners on the website even offers $50,000 to anyone that can fully disprove their website (Pizzagate). This technique establishes the writer as someone with full confidence in his cause, and the inability to disprove his claims sets up the enthymeme: The truth cannot be disproven; our website cannot be disproven; therefore, our website is the truth. The author also tries to present himself as someone who is seeking a solution to a serious problem: child sex trafficking. The website even states, “Pizzagate is a joint investigation between citizens and law enforcement to expose child sex trafficking around the world. Pizzagate is not fake news” (Pizzagate). Since he can’t be fully disproven and is fighting for a noble cause, the writer establishes himself as an enlightened renegade who uses his evidence to sway people into seeing the truth and pursuing justice.
The logos behind this theory is mainly found within John Podesta’s emails. Podesta, the campaign manager for the Clinton campaign, had his email hacked and published to Wikileaks. This allowed internet surfers to browse many of his emails and find what some would deem suspicious material, such as perceived codes which referenced a child sex trafficking ring run by the Clinton Foundation. The code in the emails was built around words involving pizza, with the D.C. pizza joint Comet Ping Pong seeming to be at the heart of the issue. People quickly began to research this restaurant and others near it, finding that three places in the area, including Comet Ping Pong, had symbols hidden in their signs and menus that paralleled actual symbols used by pedophiles. These symbols were cited from an FBI document that explained what they are and how they are used, providing conspiracy theorists with a driving force drawn from legitimate sources.
The strongest appeal of this theory lies within the emotions it evokes; its pathos. The website is covered with provocative phrases such as, “Protect your family” and “Hundreds of children abducted in Virginia”, all while placing weapon advertisements right next to them (Pizzagate). This clearly indicates the fear that this theory feeds on, for indicating the danger involved not only draws in the audience, but also shows the serious nature of the issue. Secondly, the website plays into a strong sense of injustice, as the writer claims that the Clintons are able to commit atrocious crimes without facing any repercussions, and he calls for people to investigate and bring forth justice. Finally, the theory utilizes guilt as a tool. When fear and injustice aren’t enough to sway an audience, it is easiest to attack their morality. The author does this in an extremely effective manner by othering the Clintons as pedophiles, murderers, thieves, and a whole slew of other horrific terms. By doing this, he establishes all their supporters (implicitly the Democratic Party) as people who also support all of these heinous crimes. These implications are completely unfair and offensive, but when added to the inability to disprove all of the writer’s claims, they can be used to guilt people into at least probing the theory, for no rational person would want to be attached to anyone who is involved in such despicable activities.
As the popularity of Pizzagate quickly increased, it began to appear in the national spotlight. Although its views weren’t as widely regarded as other conspiracies circulating at the time, its followers’ devotion to their cause allowed Pizzagate to permeate throughout the web and media as the political divide deepened. With Clinton and Trump representing the two major parties, this theory granted far right Conservatives a chance to slander Clinton and the left with claims that can’t be fully disproven, escalating the tension of the impending election. Even after the race ended, the repercussions of this extreme theory were noticed on a national level. On Sunday, December 4th, 2016, North Carolina native Edgar Welch made the trip to Comet Ping Pong in Washington D.C. armed with an assault rifle, handgun, and shotgun. He entered the building and fired several rifle rounds, fortunately without leading to any harm. Welch surrendered to police without any fight, and told officers his motive was to self-investigate the Pizzagate theory (Siddiqui and Svrluga). While cases this serious aren’t common, it does show the danger conspiracy theories wield when delivered at the right time and to the right audience.
The extreme claims of the Pizzagate theory have led to it being ridiculed and criticized by many. However, the select few that propagate it hold firm in their belief due to fear of government corruption, manipulation, and injustice. These people will stop at nothing to spread their sermons of fear and anger not because they are wholly bad people, but because their warped views make it their moral obligation. As swallowers of the red pill, they have become heroes tasked with leading the masses from their blinded ignorance.
Works Cited
"Pizzagate." Pizzagate. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
Siddiqui, Faiz, and Susan Svrluga. "N.C. Man Told Police He Went to D.C. Pizzeria with Gun to Investigate Conspiracy Theory." The Washington Post. N.p., 5 Dec. 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.