We published a scholarly article in M/C Journal on the origins and dynamics of the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, in which a wildly speculative narrative was constructed about a secret child sex ring led by Democrat officials. This conspiracy, as is argued, was enabled by the affordances of 4chan, that stimulate a “butterfly effect” of bullshit. While media coverage paid attention the shooting resulting from the Pizzagate theory, the article thus attempts to uncover the subcultural and technical dynamics that structurally underpin the origin and exposure of such conspiracies – dynamics which, though with some differences, recently repeated itself with QAnon.
Read “Post-Truth Protest: How 4chan Cooked Up the Pizzagate Bullshit” here.