James Alefantis was just an average restaurant owner. He had some quirky concepts and a politically significant ex-husband, but nothing alarming. That all changed with “Pizzagate,” a political scandal surrounding his pizzeria, Comet Ping Pong. At first glance, Comet Pizza is nothing special. It is described as a “hipster-heavy pizza parlor in the Upper Northwest with rough concrete walls, bathrooms hidden behind secret panels, and table tennis galore” (qtd. in Comet Ping Pong), but Comet Pizza has been through incredible controversy, a controversy that was completely fabricated. Yet, it grew exponentially due to the enabling habits of the American people.
Pizzagate began in the midst of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. In 2016, attorney David Goldberg began to spread an outlandish conspiracy. Goldberg claimed that emails between Hillary Clinton and her aide, Huma Abedin, confirmed that Hillary was running a child sex slavery ring. The theory did not end there, …show more content…
The Comet Ping Pong controversy is one of many examples of fake news manifesting into real actions with real consequences. In an extreme case, a series of fake news led to politicians enforcing a quarantine, a landlord kicking her tenants out of the house, and a nursing school to force a student to drop out. These consequences came from the story of Kaci Hickox, a nurse who was accused of having Ebola by politicians in New Jersey. This story blew up and rather than check her results more politicians demanded she go on quarantine. Quarantine was not needed, but that did not stop her landlord from attempting to kick her out and her boyfriend’s school from not allowing him to come to school because he lived with her. Actions that are taken because of fake news can cause incredible damage to people's livelihoods which is why organizations are working to fight against it
Pizzagate began in the midst of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. In 2016, attorney David Goldberg began to spread an outlandish conspiracy. Goldberg claimed that emails between Hillary Clinton and her aide, Huma Abedin, confirmed that Hillary was running a child sex slavery ring. The theory did not end there, …show more content…
The Comet Ping Pong controversy is one of many examples of fake news manifesting into real actions with real consequences. In an extreme case, a series of fake news led to politicians enforcing a quarantine, a landlord kicking her tenants out of the house, and a nursing school to force a student to drop out. These consequences came from the story of Kaci Hickox, a nurse who was accused of having Ebola by politicians in New Jersey. This story blew up and rather than check her results more politicians demanded she go on quarantine. Quarantine was not needed, but that did not stop her landlord from attempting to kick her out and her boyfriend’s school from not allowing him to come to school because he lived with her. Actions that are taken because of fake news can cause incredible damage to people's livelihoods which is why organizations are working to fight against it