“If you don't know any better and you already think there's something wrong with this community, you're going to see this as more reason why it shouldn't have rights.”

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Baseless accusations of LGBT activists supporting the acceptance of pedophilia as a sexual orientation have resurfaced thanks to far-right trolls and internet conspiracists. The latest push of the false narrative came from actor and prominent conservative James Woods, who frequently uses his Twitter account to spread falsehoods. On Tuesday, Woods tweeted a photo of a rainbow poster that had the text “Pedophiles are people too” on it. “And so it begins,” he wrote. The tweet received nearly 14,000 retweets and even more likes, prompting concern and outrage.



The image of the poster had spread online, primarily through Facebook, and made the rounds on forums about the baseless Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories. The poster was originally stapled onto a telephone pole near a school in Portland, Oregon. Local news outlet KATU confirmed it was real and reported that the neighbors tore it down, but who put it up and why remains a mystery. While the poster’s origins may be unclear, what is evident is that these baseless pedophilia accusations have been spreading more and more recently, and they’re a key component of online conspiracies that tend to support conservatives and cast liberals in an unflattering light.

“Pedophilia makes people angry, and anger is an emotion that drives action,” Joseph Uscinski, a political science professor at the University of Miami who studies conspiracy theories, told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview. “That action could include either sharing the story on social media or going out and chasing the pedophiles with weapons. Or something in between.” Uscinski said accusing opponents of hurting children has a long history and has led to many innocent people’s lives being ruined, so it becomes particularly problematic when vulnerable communities are targeted. “We want to be very careful, because the conspiracy theory points out innocent and unprotected people as villains,” Uscinski said. “That's when you can run into danger. If you have a conspiracy theory about immigrants or refugees or racial minorities or LGBTQ people or just regular people who don't have the benefit of secret service protection, these are people who are vulnerable to attack and sometimes conspiracy theorists will want to fight fire with fire.” The LGBT/pedophilia conspiracy theory is not just being spread online. Last year, someone handed a crowd of people protesting conservative media commentator Mike Cernovich a pro-pedophilia sign. Although protesters quickly got rid of the banner, which was emblazoned with the logo for the largely defunct North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), it still became the basis of a misinformation campaign. Far-right media personalities used the photo of protesters holding it as an opportunity to call the protesters pedophiles, and the image continues to make rounds online nine months later.

Alt right strikes first at Columbia Cernovich event, plants NAMBLA-branded sign in front of protest march

Of course, it's prominent conspiracy websites like Infowars and poorly moderated social media that helps these hoaxes spread. Just last week, searching for Tom Hanks on YouTube, or even just googling him, brought up false conspiracies about him being part of a “pedophile ring.” But searching a little deeper, on fringe anonymous forums like 4chan or 8chan, reveals plenty of coordinated campaigns surrounding pedophilia allegations.

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