Patrick Oconnell
In 2016, the Pizzagate conspiracy theory emerged, alleging that Hillary Clinton and other high-ranking Democratic Party officials were connected to a child sex ring being run out of a pizzeria in Washington, D.C. The term cheese pizza is alleged to be code for sex with a very young child. This conspiracy theory, which has been likened to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, has evolved and spread to other online platforms, with proponents claiming a satanic cabal of elites of the New World Order operates international child sex trafficking rings.
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What You'll Learn
The Pizzagate conspiracy theory
In March 2016, the personal email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, was hacked. WikiLeaks published his emails in November 2016. Proponents of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory falsely claimed that the emails contained coded messages that connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring. The theory suggests that ""pizza" is a codeword for underage sex, and "cheese pizza" for sex with a very young child.
One of the establishments allegedly involved was the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C. An employee of Comet posted many images portraying pizza in a sexual way, further fuelling the suspicion that they were using "pizza" as a codeword for sex with minors. An admitted paedophile on a dark-web forum acknowledged a trend of paedophiles using pizza parlours as fronts for child sex trafficking. Comet Pizza and Ping Pong was owned by an associate of the Podestas, James Alefantis, who has been connected to accused child trafficker Laura Silsby.
In response to the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, a man from North Carolina travelled to Comet Ping Pong to investigate. He fired a rifle inside the restaurant to break the lock on a storage room during his search.
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John Podesta's emails
John Podesta, a former advisor to US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and the chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, has been at the centre of a conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate". The theory, which has been widely discredited, alleges that Podesta and other high-profile individuals, including the Clintons, were involved in a child sex-trafficking ring.
The theory was sparked by leaked emails from Podesta's account, which were released by WikiLeaks and included references to food items, handkerchiefs, and maps, which were interpreted as codewords for child sex abuse. In one email, Podesta mentions a handkerchief with a "pizza-related map" on it, and in another, he discusses changing "strategies" and playing "dominoes on cheese instead of pasta". The phrase ""cheese pizza" is alleged to be a codeword for child pornography, and so the references to pizza were seen as suspicious.
The emails also mentioned a pizza restaurant, Comet Ping Pong Pizza, owned by an associate of the Podestas, James Alefantis, who has been accused of being involved in child sex trafficking. Alefantis has posted photos of children taped to ping pong tables and walk-in coolers with the hashtag "#murder", as well as photos of Tony Podesta's sculptures modelled after victims of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. These images, along with the emails, were interpreted as evidence of a child sex-trafficking ring.
Pizzagate has been widely discredited, with no evidence of a child sex-trafficking ring being found. However, the theory has persisted, with some continuing to believe that the emails and images provide evidence of a cover-up and a wider conspiracy. The conspiracy theory has also been linked to QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory movement that alleges a cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic paedophiles running a global child sex-trafficking ring.
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Child sex trafficking rings
In 2016, the personal email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, was hacked, and WikiLeaks published his emails. Proponents of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory falsely claimed that the emails contained coded messages that connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring. The scandal pursued by the online research community became known as PizzaGate, as the pedophile lingo for underage sex is "pizza," and sex with a very young child is called "cheese pizza."
Online research communities developed on platforms such as Reddit, 4Chan, and Twitter, under the rapidly trending hashtag #PizzaGate. Many proponents of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory pointed to an email from Tam Luzzatto to John Podesta, which stated that children aged 11, 9, and 7 would be "in the pool for further entertainment" and that they "will definitely be in that pool." Another email referenced a black-and-white handkerchief with a "pizza-related map" that Podesta had left behind at a friend's house. In the gay community, handkerchiefs are sometimes used as code for sexual preferences, and some have suggested that the black-and-white colors could symbolize BDSM/domination and pedophilia, respectively.
Additionally, an employee of Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C., which was allegedly involved in the conspiracy, posted images portraying pizza in a sexual way. This further fueled suspicions that "pizza" was being used as a codeword for sex with minors. An admitted pedophile on a dark-web forum also acknowledged a trend of pedophiles using pizza parlors as fronts for child sex trafficking. Furthermore, an associate of the Podestas, James Alefantis, who owns Comet Ping Pong, has been linked to accused child trafficker Laura Silsby. Silsby was caught trafficking children in Haiti and was later convicted of sex trafficking.
Pizzagate has evolved and spread beyond its initial far-right origins, with less emphasis on Clinton and more on an alleged worldwide elite of child sex traffickers. It has also generated offshoot conspiracy theories, such as Frazzledrip, which claimed that an "extreme snuff film" involving the ritual murder of a child by Hillary Clinton was recovered from Anthony Weiner's laptop. While the Pizzagate conspiracy theory has been widely debunked, it continues to persist and evolve, finding new audiences on platforms like TikTok.
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Child pornography
The term "cheese pizza" is a code word used by individuals to refer to child pornography. The term originated from image boards like 4chan and HTCAP, where it was initially used as a meme to mock or taunt the mods. It is believed to have come into use between 2004 and 2007. According to some sources, the term originated when a pedophile on HTCAP offered the host a pizza to let him go.
In recent years, the term has been used by child sex predators to hide their criminal activity on social media platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr, and Wickr. In November 2023, the FBI confirmed that "pizza" and "cheese pizza" are known slang/code words used to discuss child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This confirmation came after the arrest of Clinton Harnden, a Texas A&M University employee, who was found to be using the term "pizza" in online chats to refer to child pornography.
In the FBI affidavit, Special Agent Dimitri L. Willis wrote that Harnden posted on his Tumblr page: "Anyone give out free pizza today?". Willis stated that through his training and experience, he knows that "pizza" and "cheese pizza" are commonly used as code words to discuss CSAM in public forums without detection. Harnden's Tumblr page was filled with posts and responses about pornographic material, including CSAM.
The use of "pizza" as a code word for child pornography is not an isolated incident. In one case, a defendant named Salamak admitted that "cheese pizza" was a reference to child pornography in a Craigslist advertisement. In another case, Joseph Hornof was found guilty of distribution and possession of child pornography. Hornof would refer to the girls in the videos as "pizza" and state the age of the "cheese" to reveal their ages.
The Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which emerged in 2016, also brought attention to the use of "pizza" as a code word for child sex trafficking. Proponents of the theory falsely claimed that hacked emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, John Podesta, contained coded messages connecting Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants to a child sex ring. While Pizzagate initially spread within far-right circles, it has since evolved and spread to other online platforms, such as TikTok, where it has reached a broader audience.
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Child sex abuse
In 2016, the term "pizzagate" emerged as a conspiracy theory that connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring. The term originated from the codeword "pizza," which is allegedly used by paedophiles to refer to underage sex, while "cheese pizza" refers to sex with a very young child.
The pizzagate conspiracy theory was based on emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, John Podesta, which were hacked and published by WikiLeaks in November 2016. These emails contained cryptic references to "pizza" and "cheese" that were interpreted as codewords for child sex abuse. For example, in one email, Podesta received a message saying that children aged 11, 9, and 7 would be "in the pool for further entertainment". In another email, Podesta was told that he had left behind a handkerchief with a "pizza-related map," which was suspected to be a reference to child sex abuse due to the common paedophile code phrase "cheese pizza".
The conspiracy theory led to the investigation of a pizza restaurant mentioned in one of Podesta's emails, Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C. Proponents of the theory claimed that Comet Ping Pong was a front for child sex trafficking and that its owners were connected to known child traffickers. An employee of Comet Ping Pong was also found to have posted images portraying pizza in a sexual way, which further fueled suspicions.
Pizzagate gained traction among far-right groups and conservative journalists, who spread the conspiracy theory on social media platforms such as 4chan, 8chan, Reddit, and Twitter. The theory led to a dangerous incident in which a man from North Carolina traveled to Comet Ping Pong to investigate the conspiracy and fired a rifle inside the restaurant.
Pizzagate has evolved and spread beyond its initial far-right origins, with the conspiracy theory gaining renewed popularity on TikTok in 2020. It has also generated offshoot theories, such as "Pedogate," which claims that a "satanic cabal of elites" operates international child sex trafficking rings, and "Frazzledrip," which involves Hillary Clinton in the ritual murder of a child. While the pizzagate conspiracy theory has been widely discredited, it continues to circulate and impact public opinion, with polls showing that a significant number of people believe the theory to be true.
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Frequently asked questions
Pizzagate is a conspiracy theory that emerged in 2016, which falsely claims that leaked emails from Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign chair, John Podesta, contained coded messages that connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring.
"Cheese pizza" is believed to be a code phrase for child pornography. The conspiracy theory suggests that "pizza" was used as a codeword for sex with minors, and "cheese pizza" specifically referred to child pornography.
Proponents of the theory point to cryptic emails sent to and from John Podesta, which they claim contain coded language referring to child sex trafficking. For example, one email mentions a handkerchief with a "pizza-related map", and another mentions children being "in the pool for further entertainment".
Pizzagate led to real-world consequences, including a man from North Carolina traveling to Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C., to investigate the conspiracy. He fired a rifle inside the restaurant to break into a storage room. The theory also led to increased scrutiny and threats against individuals and organizations falsely accused of being involved in the alleged child sex ring.
No, Pizzagate has been widely discredited and is considered a conspiracy theory. There is no credible evidence to support the claims made by proponents of the theory.
