WEBVTT - Season 06 Episode 28 Extra: The Tail of the Comet

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClane Smith, where

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<v Speaker 1>for the weeks in between episodes, we look at stories

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<v Speaker 1>and ideas that, for one reason or other, didn't make

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<v Speaker 1>it into the previous show. In our last episode, The

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<v Speaker 1>new Sphere, we took a bit of a dive into

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<v Speaker 1>the digital world to look at some of the ways

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<v Speaker 1>in which the Internet might be impacting our way of life,

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<v Speaker 1>and in particular the way in which we receive and

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<v Speaker 1>share information, as explored in the episode The Myth that

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<v Speaker 1>the slender Man has been considered by some academics to

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<v Speaker 1>constitute a new form of folklore, which, due to the

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<v Speaker 1>rapidity and mechanics of how we communicate online, can quickly

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<v Speaker 1>embed itself in collective cultures. One of the frequent criticisms

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<v Speaker 1>of where we are now in terms of our relationship

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<v Speaker 1>to the net is its propensity to fuel and spread

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<v Speaker 1>fake news and provide of an error of truth to

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<v Speaker 1>completely fictitious events. As the Internet becomes our public forum

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<v Speaker 1>for sharing and discussing ideas, more often than not it

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<v Speaker 1>is through this portal that we develop much of our

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<v Speaker 1>sense of the world, as such, as demonstrated by the

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<v Speaker 1>attempted murder of Paint and Loutner in twenty twelve. What

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<v Speaker 1>achieves validity online can quickly achieve solidity in the real world.

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<v Speaker 1>It isn't only since the invention of the Internet, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>that people have behaved and acted based on fallacious information, however,

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<v Speaker 1>such as the global reach and speed with which information

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<v Speaker 1>can spread online, not to mention the self reflective manner

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<v Speaker 1>in which many of our social media platforms collate the

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<v Speaker 1>information that we see. Never before have we been so

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<v Speaker 1>susceptible to misinformation. The so called slender Man stabbing was

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<v Speaker 1>not the first incident of its kind, and it certainly

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't the last. It all started with a text, or

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<v Speaker 1>rather a series of texts, sent to multiple women by

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<v Speaker 1>former member of the US House of Representatives Antony Wiener,

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<v Speaker 1>back in early twenty thirteen. The then forty seven year

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<v Speaker 1>old Wiener, who was married at the time to political

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<v Speaker 1>staffer whom Abadin, was fighting for his professional and personal life,

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<v Speaker 1>having been publicly outed for engaging in numerous cases of

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<v Speaker 1>extramarital sexting. Despite the embarrassment to his partner and the

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<v Speaker 1>derailing of his career as a public servant by twenty sixteen,

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<v Speaker 1>the incident was finally beginning to fade from the news

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<v Speaker 1>cycle as the far more pressing issue of who between

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<v Speaker 1>Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was going to win the

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<v Speaker 1>presidency that year held the nation in its grip. But

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<v Speaker 1>then in August of that year, it happened again, only

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<v Speaker 1>this time things were a little different. By then, whom

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<v Speaker 1>Abadin was acting as a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton

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<v Speaker 1>in what remains one of the most bitterly fought and

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<v Speaker 1>closely contested presidential elections of living memory. What also made

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<v Speaker 1>it more complicated was that one of the individuals that

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<v Speaker 1>Weena was found to have been sexting was only fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>years old. Weena was subsequently investigated by the FBI for

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<v Speaker 1>the offense of transferring obscene material to a minor, and

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<v Speaker 1>as a result, had various communication devices confiscated, including a

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<v Speaker 1>laptop which he shared with his wife. Earlier that year,

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<v Speaker 1>Hillary Clinton was very publicly investigated by the FBI for

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<v Speaker 1>failing to disclose thousands of emails she sent vi a

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<v Speaker 1>private email server. As a result, a number of Clinton's

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<v Speaker 1>opponents accused her of deliberately trying to hide incriminating evidence.

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<v Speaker 1>During her time as a public servant, Clinton had long

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<v Speaker 1>been considered a shady operator by many who opposed her

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<v Speaker 1>run for the presidency, but now there appeared to be

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<v Speaker 1>some legitimacy to their claims. The FBI's investigation, however, centered

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<v Speaker 1>on the more practical issue of whether Clinton had sent

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<v Speaker 1>classified information outside of the official channels, either negligently or

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<v Speaker 1>to deliberately hide it from the official archive, either of

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<v Speaker 1>which would constitute a federal offense. In the end, however,

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<v Speaker 1>the FBI dropped their investigation when it was concluded that

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<v Speaker 1>no offense had been committed. The story, it seemed, was finished.

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<v Speaker 1>That was until the FBI opened up Weener's laptop, only

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<v Speaker 1>to find a whole host of further email exchanges between

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<v Speaker 1>whomer Abodin and Hillary Clinton that had not previously been investigated.

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<v Speaker 1>A few days after this story broke erupting from somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>out of the intersection between the sordid nature of Weener's crime,

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<v Speaker 1>his relationship to whomer Abodin, and in turn, her connection

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<v Speaker 1>to Hillary Clinton, a strange rumor began to grow on line.

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<v Speaker 1>On October thirtieth, twenty sixteen, the following message was published

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<v Speaker 1>on Twitter via the handle at David Goldberg n Y.

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<v Speaker 1>Rumors stirring in the NYPD that Whomer's emails point to

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<v Speaker 1>a pedophilia ring, and Hillary Clinton is at the center

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<v Speaker 1>in the febrile atmosphere of such a bitterly fought presidential election,

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<v Speaker 1>where so many of those on each side of the

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<v Speaker 1>political divide saw the prospect of a failed outcome for

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<v Speaker 1>their candidate as nothing less than an existential catastrophe. At

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<v Speaker 1>David goldberg Enwyse tweet seemed to strike a nerve. Before

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<v Speaker 1>long it had been retweeted six thousand times, But then

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<v Speaker 1>it began to snowball and gain traction elsewhere, most notably

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<v Speaker 1>in the forums of Reddit and the infamous online messaging

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<v Speaker 1>board four Chan. Then, almost as if it were part

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<v Speaker 1>of some kind of co ordinated campaign, another series of

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<v Speaker 1>emails was suddenly exposed, this time belonging to John Podesta,

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<v Speaker 1>the chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign. Podesta's emails had actually

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<v Speaker 1>been hacked back in March of that year by a

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<v Speaker 1>cyber spine group based out of Russia known as Fancy Bare. However,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't until late October that twenty thousand pages of

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<v Speaker 1>emails from Podesta's account appeared on wikileaques. Just as the

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<v Speaker 1>rumors about the apparent Hillary Clinton led chart sex rig

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<v Speaker 1>were beginning to spiral out of control. Hidden among John

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<v Speaker 1>Podesta's emails was a message sent in June twenty fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>from the artist Marina Abramovitch to John's brother, Tony Podest,

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<v Speaker 1>a well known Democratic Party donor. It said, Dear Tony,

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<v Speaker 1>I am so looking forward to the spirit cooking dinner

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<v Speaker 1>at my place. Do you think you'll be able to

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<v Speaker 1>let me know if your brother is joining? Or my love, Marina,

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<v Speaker 1>what was spirit cooking exactly? Some people began to wander.

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<v Speaker 1>A quick search of the term brought up a piece

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<v Speaker 1>of art by the same name, which was made by

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<v Speaker 1>A Bramovich back in nineteen ninety six. The piece was

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<v Speaker 1>essentially a cookbook full of pseudo aphrodisiac recipes, containing strange

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<v Speaker 1>instructions like how the reader should sprinkle fresh morning yurine

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<v Speaker 1>over nightmare dreams, or to mix fresh breast milk with

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<v Speaker 1>fresh sperm milk on earthquake nights. One also encouraged the

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<v Speaker 1>reader to cut deep lee into the middle finger of

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<v Speaker 1>your left hand with a sharp knife and eat the pain.

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<v Speaker 1>The work was designed purely as a way to provoke

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<v Speaker 1>and evoke thoughts about the body. To some, However, its

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<v Speaker 1>true meaning was something entirely different. Clearly, they believed Abramovich

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<v Speaker 1>was some kind of monstrous satanic occultist, and her connection

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<v Speaker 1>to Hillary Clinton via the Podesta Brothers was irrefutable evidence

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<v Speaker 1>that something very disturbing was going on at the heart

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<v Speaker 1>of the Democratic Party. It was Friday November fourth in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen, less than a week before the presidential elections,

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<v Speaker 1>when James Alaphantus suddenly noticed a string of strange comments

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<v Speaker 1>on his Instagram account accusing him of being a pedophile.

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<v Speaker 1>Back in two thousand and six, Alaphantus and his then

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<v Speaker 1>business partner, Carol Greenwood opened a pizza rear and ping

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<v Speaker 1>pong venue at fifty thirty seven Connecticut Avenue in Northwest Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. They named it Comet Ping Pong. By twenty sixteen,

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<v Speaker 1>Comt Ping Pong had cemented itself as one of the

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<v Speaker 1>trendier spots in the area with its raw, hipster esthetic,

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<v Speaker 1>live music events, and gourmet pizza menu. As revealed in

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<v Speaker 1>the Podesta emails, Comet Ping Pong had also been touted

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<v Speaker 1>as a possible venue to host a political fundraise of

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<v Speaker 1>that year for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Alaphantas's boyfriend also

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<v Speaker 1>happened to be David Brock, founder of the media watchdog

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<v Speaker 1>group Media Matters for America and one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>influential figures in the Democratic Party around that time. Confused

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<v Speaker 1>by the sudden spate of accusatory messages, Alaphantus showed them

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<v Speaker 1>to some of his younger staff members, who promptly went

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<v Speaker 1>on line to see if they could get to the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom of it. What they found astonished them. Due to

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<v Speaker 1>its mention in John Podesta's emails, Comet Ping Pong had

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<v Speaker 1>been pulled into the sex's ring rumors too. Alaphantus's instagram

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<v Speaker 1>had subsequently been scoured for evidence of involvement in satanism

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<v Speaker 1>or pedophilia, and so too was the pizzeria and everything

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<v Speaker 1>connected to it, from the layout of the menus to

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<v Speaker 1>the restaurant's interior design. Anything from a picture of a

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<v Speaker 1>toddler standing in a supermarket shopping basket posted to Aliphantus's

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<v Speaker 1>Instagram to a mural painted on the restaurant walls six

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<v Speaker 1>years previously were confirmed as evidence that Comet Ping Pong

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<v Speaker 1>was being used as the key venue for the Satanic

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<v Speaker 1>child abuse. Some even began to speculate that the mere

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<v Speaker 1>mention of cheese pizza anywhere was code for child pornography.

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<v Speaker 1>Three days after James Aliphantus was first called a pedophile,

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<v Speaker 1>online hashtag pizza gate appeared for the first time on Twitter.

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<v Speaker 1>This was tweeted thousands of times over the next few

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<v Speaker 1>days and weeks, most prominently by what were later found

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<v Speaker 1>to be bots running through servers coming out of the

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<v Speaker 1>Czech Republic, Cyprus, and Vietnam. Hillary Clinton would go on

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<v Speaker 1>to lose the twenty sixteen election, though there has been

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<v Speaker 1>much debate about the true impact of the reopening of

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<v Speaker 1>the investigation into her emails only six weeks before the election.

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<v Speaker 1>Since the margin by which she lost was so slim,

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<v Speaker 1>many have argued, not unreasonably, that the investigation cost her

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<v Speaker 1>the presidency. If some were hoping that her loss would

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<v Speaker 1>put an end to the Bizaar pizza Gate conspiracy, however,

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<v Speaker 1>they would be very much mistaken. Soon the conspiracy was

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<v Speaker 1>jumping from online forums to full scale reports from various

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<v Speaker 1>citizen journalist organizations like Alex Jones's info Wars, which gleefully

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<v Speaker 1>promoted the story. One info War's video titled Pizza Gate

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<v Speaker 1>is Real was watched over two million times. On November sixteenth,

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<v Speaker 1>the online provocateur, often described as an old right political activist,

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<v Speaker 1>Jack but Sobiec, streamed alive video of himself visiting the pizzeria,

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<v Speaker 1>where he then proceeded to film an innocent children's party

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<v Speaker 1>taking place in the restaurant's back room. Though he found

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<v Speaker 1>no evidence of a satanic child abuse ring, many praised

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<v Speaker 1>him online for his supposedly valiant efforts to get to

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<v Speaker 1>the truth of the rumors. The following day, the website

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<v Speaker 1>to the Vigilante Citizen published an article forensically detailing the

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<v Speaker 1>various pieces of apparent evidence that the restaurant had links

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<v Speaker 1>to a child's sex ring. Once again, pictures of children

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<v Speaker 1>taken from James Alifantas's instagram were highlighted, as well as

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<v Speaker 1>the imagery used in Comet Ping Pong's menu and branding.

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<v Speaker 1>An image of two Ping Pong paddles crossed over at

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<v Speaker 1>the handle was alleged to be a clear nod to

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<v Speaker 1>the low go of a blue and pink heart tied together,

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<v Speaker 1>said to mean child lover in pedophile circles. By then,

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<v Speaker 1>the truth if it had ever mattered at all, was

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<v Speaker 1>completely irrelevant. Just through the sheer will of its believers

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<v Speaker 1>and the repeated proliferation of the rumors, the conspiracy had

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<v Speaker 1>taken on a life of its own. It had grown

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<v Speaker 1>arms and legs, and, like Freddy Krueger's tongue lapping out

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<v Speaker 1>from a phone in a teenager's dream, it was starting

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<v Speaker 1>to manifest in the real world. It began smallish at first,

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<v Speaker 1>with simple phone calls to the restaurant, with callers demanding

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<v Speaker 1>to know the truth about Hillary Clinton and the depraved

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<v Speaker 1>sex ring. Then came the death threats. Sometimes the phone

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<v Speaker 1>barely stopped ringing from opening to close. Early on December fourth,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen, twenty eight year old Edgar Madison Welch or

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<v Speaker 1>just Madison to his friends, woke up at his home

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<v Speaker 1>in Salisbury, North Carolina, and rolled out of bed. After

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<v Speaker 1>getting dressed, the father of two young daughters told his

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<v Speaker 1>girlfriend that he had some things to do and left

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<v Speaker 1>the house. From there, he took a three hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty mile drive to Washington, where, at some time just

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<v Speaker 1>before three pm, he parked up outside the Comet Ping

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<v Speaker 1>Pong pizzeria pulled an R fifteen assault rifle out of

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<v Speaker 1>the boot and proceeded to march into the restaurant. Inside.

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<v Speaker 1>Startled diners took one look at the rifle and dashed

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<v Speaker 1>outside to safety as Welch pressed on, clearly looking for something.

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<v Speaker 1>The man later said he'd simply driven there with the

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<v Speaker 1>intention of taking a look at the place for himself,

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<v Speaker 1>but by the time he arrived he changed his plans.

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<v Speaker 1>Spurred on by the thought of innocent children being sexually abused,

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<v Speaker 1>he decided to arm himself before stepping inside in case

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<v Speaker 1>anyone there needed rescuing. After pointing the gun at one

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<v Speaker 1>staff member, he continued into the ping pong room at

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<v Speaker 1>the back, and then on into the kitchen. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the many rumors about the venue was that located somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>within it was a secret room leading to a set

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<v Speaker 1>of tunnels that were used by members of the apparent

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<v Speaker 1>child sex ring to ferry live and dead children in

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<v Speaker 1>and out at the restaurant, but Welch found no such thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Police arrived soon after, and after a series of shots

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<v Speaker 1>were heard from inside, they shouted for Welch to give

0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:10.120
<v Speaker 1>himself up. The man did as they said, walking quietly

0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.880
<v Speaker 1>out of the restaurant with his head on his hands

0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.359
<v Speaker 1>and into the middle of the street, from where he

0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:20.960
<v Speaker 1>was handcuffed and arrested. When asked later why he didn't

0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:25.040
<v Speaker 1>think he'd found any abused children on the property, he

0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:30.199
<v Speaker 1>admitted that regrettably, the intel he had probably wasn't a

0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:36.600
<v Speaker 1>hundred percent. The story shocked the nation, while many who'd

0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:40.560
<v Speaker 1>previously advocated for the conspiracy were forced to face up

0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:44.840
<v Speaker 1>to the likely reality that Comet Ping Pong had not

0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:48.600
<v Speaker 1>been quite what they thought it was. It seemed then

0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:53.399
<v Speaker 1>the story might finally be put to bed, but then

0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:59.760
<v Speaker 1>something new came to light. Welch, it turned out, had

0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:04.080
<v Speaker 1>at one time been a bit part actor, and then

0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:09.639
<v Speaker 1>it all made sense again. His strange trip to the restaurant,

0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.760
<v Speaker 1>his arrest, and subsequent claim that there was nothing strange

0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.960
<v Speaker 1>going on at all and clearly all been an act.

0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:30.520
<v Speaker 1>Welch too, was one of them. Unexplained. The book and audiobook,

0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:34.399
<v Speaker 1>featuring stories that have never before been featured on the show,

0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:40.080
<v Speaker 1>is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes,

0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:46.920
<v Speaker 1>and Noble Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements have unexplained,

0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.240
<v Speaker 1>including the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain

0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:53.400
<v Speaker 1>Smith Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen

0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:56.040
<v Speaker 1>to podcasts, and feel free to get in touch with

0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:58.879
<v Speaker 1>any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on

0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.680
<v Speaker 1>the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own

0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:04.320
<v Speaker 1>you'd like to share. You can reach us online at

0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:09.159
<v Speaker 1>Unexplained podcast dot com or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and

0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:14.200
<v Speaker 1>Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward slash Unexplained Podcast