To say “Pizzagate” is capturing the public’s imagination is something of an understatement. Over the past week, the newswires have gone crazy over claims that Hillary Clinton is somehow connected to the Pizzagate conspiracy theory. In a nutshell, Pizzagate claims that emails from John Podesta, a longtime Clinton insider, show that a Washington pizza restaurant is the hub for widespread trafficking of children for sexual abuse. The Pizzagate conspiracy began with a group of Donald Trump supporters on social media platform Reddit after WikiLeaks posted a series of weird emails from Podesta.

They claim that those emails do not make any sense unless the words they contained were some sort of code. Blogger Ace of Swords claims that the codewords used are “very well-established early internet and dark web codewords for child porn, pedophilia, and BDSM.” The Pizzagate theory claims that discussion between John Podesta and Susan Sandler centered on a handkerchief supposedly left at a location he had hired for some kind of event.

Village Voice explains that the “Handkerchief Code” has long been used in a variety of situations to indicate sexual preferences. Messages to Podesta mentioned a black handkerchief, something that can indicate an interest in sadomasochistic sex. The Pizzagate theory claims that in the context of Podesta’s emails, references to “cheese pizza” meant pedophile sex, while references to “sauce” meant an orgy.

The Pizzagate emails also show links between Clinton, Podesta, and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

So Why Pizzagate?

The allegation is that a Washington pizza joint called Comet Ping Pong, owned by James Alefantis, was at the center of a pedophile ring that included some of Washington’s most powerful people. Comet Ping Pong is described as “a dive” yet it is frequented by the political elite. Oddly, restaurant owner Alefantis is named by GQ as the 49th most powerful person in Washington.

Need something to do this Friday with the kiddies who aren't in school yet? Check out our new KIDS SHOW SERIES! pic.twitter.com/IgMLMUDj96 — Comet Ping Pong (@cometpingpong) August 23, 2016

Images on Alefantis’ Instagram feed often depicted strange images of children together with comments that could be interpreted as fitting in with the codes mentioned above. This account has now been made private. Having linked Podesta and Alefantis, internet sleuths set about finding links to Hillary Clinton, and claims began to emerge that Clinton was involved in pedophilia. Of course, all roads led back to WikiLeaks publishing of the emails Clinton kept on her private server. Podesta’s computer was seized by the FBI, and details of its contents also found its way to WikiLeaks.

So What’s The Deal With Reddit And Pizzagate?

As reported by the Washington Post, as Pizzagate gathered pace, Reddit took the decision to close down Reddit communities focusing on Pizzagate. Reddit users attempting to log onto the Pizzagate conspiracy board were met with a message that said the subreddit had been banned. Reddit cited its policy on banning the posting of the personal and confidential information of others.

By banning the Pizzagate subreddit, the site increased the speculation that there is a conspiracy to cover up the actions of pedophiles. Voice of America reports that the conspiracy theories were notched up further still when Reddit CEO Steve Huffman was forced to admit that he had altered the content of some of the posts on the Pizzagate subreddit.

The Pizzagate believers see the intervention of the liberal and pro-Clinton, press as further proof of a high-level cover-up. They argue that a New York Times article dismissing Pizzagate as “a fake news onslaught” merely serves to prove a cover-up.

In that article, Alefantis claims that Pizzagate is an “insane, fabricated conspiracy theory” and says that he and his staff have “come under constant assault.” He claims that he has personally received over 100 death threats as a result of Pizzagate.

As reported by the Inquisitr earlier this week, it is even suggested that Kanye West’s hospitalization for “psychiatric assessment” is as a direct result of Pizzagate. Conspiracy theorists are speculating that Kanye was about to spill what he knew about the Pizzagate scandal.

Here's Spirit Cooker, Marina Abramovic, with Kim Kardashian. Wonder if this was before or after Kanye turned woke.#SpiritCooking#PizzaGate pic.twitter.com/9B3eYgr9fw — Brittany Pettibone (@BrittPettibone) November 23, 2016

Rumor-busting site Snopes dismisses Pizzagate as fantasy, but it seems that the more Pizzagate is dismissed, the more people believe there is a massive cover-up going on. The problem with conspiracy theories is that their advocates see any evidence that does not fit their theory as evidence that there is a conspiracy.

So is there any real evidence to support Pizzagate? Let’s just say that Pizzagate has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy theory that will fit alongside the assassination of JFK, the death of Marilyn Monroe, and the moon landings. Pizzagate seems set to run wild.

[Featured Image by John Locher/AP Image]