Clinton Blames Pizzagate: Social Ads Decided 2016
Former Secretary of State cites false online claims and Russian funding as key factors in her defeat against Donald Trump.
By Vikram Harrison ·
Hillary Clinton identified the Pizzagate conspiracy as a primary factor in her loss during the 2016 presidential election. Speaking in an interview with Kara Swisher released on Wednesday, the former secretary of state argued that online advertisements spread the false theory with damaging speed and reach.
Clinton stated that Facebook was the most damaging platform for her campaign. She described the conspiracy as a "huge lie that took off" through digital channels. The former first lady noted that her team was "frankly ill-prepared" and unaware of how effective such targeted advertising could be.
The Pizzagate theory claimed that Clinton and campaign chairman John Podesta ran a child sex ring in the basement of Comet Ping Pong, a restaurant in Washington, D.C. The claim was factually incorrect, as the establishment did not have a basement. Despite this, the narrative gained traction online and in physical spaces.
The conspiracy reached a violent climax in December 2016 when Edgar Maddison Welch, a man from North Carolina, entered the restaurant with a rifle. Welch believed he was rescuing trapped children. He fired several shots in the dining area before police took him into custody.
Clinton explained that the false claims forced her staff to spend considerable time correcting misinformation at the local level. She recalled volunteers telling voters that the stories they heard on the internet were not true. However, many voters cited seeing the claims online as their reason for hesitating to support the candidate.
She cited specific examples where voters said they could not vote for her because she killed people or trafficked children. Clinton attributed this susceptibility to the legitimacy of the visual media used in the ads. She pointed out that some of these campaigns were funded with Russian money.
The former president’s comments serve as a cautionary note for current political campaigns. She warned that money spent to spread similar lies about Democratic candidates remains a potent tool in the current election cycle.
