Friday, December 09, 2016

Hillary Clinton says ‘lives are at risk’ because of fake news - The Verge

Also see Comet Pizzeria Gunman Says “the Intel on This Wasn’t 100 percent” in First Interview (Slate)

"Hillary Clinton has called for Congress and Silicon Valley to counter an “epidemic” of fake online news, after a conspiracy theorist fired a gun inside a Washington, DC pizza parlor he believed was part of a child sex trafficking ring linked to Clinton. Clinton raised the subject of “malicious fake news and false propaganda” more generally, saying it had “flooded social media over the past year.” But “it's now clear that so-called fake news can have real-world consequences,” she said. “This isn't about politics or partisanship. Lives are at risk. Lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days to do their jobs, contribute to their communities.”

Clinton remained vague in her condemnation. But the statement is seemingly a reference to threats against Comet Ping Pong and other pizzerias at the center of “Pizzagate,” a conspiracy theory that claims Clinton’s former presidential chair John Podesta is part of a pedophilia ring hiding behind coded food terms. Over the weekend, a self-styled Pizzagate investigator showed up at Comet Ping Pong with a rifle, and was arrested after firing it inside the restaurant. The man, Edgar Maddison Welch, said he had become convinced that Comet Ping Pong was hiding child sex slaves after investigating the theory online."
Hillary Clinton says ‘lives are at risk’ because of fake news - The Verge

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