Episode 391: 4chan, WikiLeaks, and Pizzagate - Part 3
A mess of emails. A community hungry for a new fight. And one round food item that suddenly gained a sinister reputation. It all came together online and changed the course of history forever. This week's episode is 4chan, WikiLeaks, and Pizzagate: Part 3.
SOURCES
A wry look at the absurd origins of Rothschild conspiracy theories, Washington Post: https://archive.is/VCw3U
An Automated Pipeline for the Discovery of Conspiracy and Conspiracy Theory Narrative Frameworks: Bridgegate, Pizzagate and Storytelling on the Web, PMC/National Library of Medicine: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7297331/
Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal, Rolling Stone: https://archive.is/c2geR
Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Apologizes For Promoting 'Pizzagate', WESA: https://www.wesa.fm/national-international-news/2017-03-26/conspiracy-theorist-alex-jones-apologizes-for-promoting-pizzagate
Dissecting the #PizzaGate Conspiracy Theories, The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/10/business/media/pizzagate.html
Epstein Files Don't Prove 'Pizzagate' Conspiracy Theory Was Real, Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/tracker/epstein-files-pizzagate/
Epstein Files: Seven Conspiracy Theories the 2026 Release Has Thrust Back Into Focus, IBTimes UK: https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/epstein-files-theories-2026-release-1779270
Epstein Files Are Giving Pizzagate, The, Friday Things: https://www.fridaythings.com/recent-posts/epstein-files-pizzagate-conspiracy-theories
Epstein Files: Why Pizzagate Is Reemerging After Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton Depositions, NewsNation: https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/pizzagate-epstein-investigation-clinton-depositions/
Epstein Files: Truth, Accountability and a Million New Conspiracy Theories, CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/politics/epstein-files-conspiracy-theories-trump-clinton-cia-analysis
Fact Check: Why Pizza Mentions in Epstein Files Don't Prove Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory, Snopes/Yahoo News: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fact-check-why-pizza-mentions-120000370.html
How Pizzagate Went from Fake News to a Real Problem for a D.C. Business, PolitiFact: https://www.politifact.com/article/2016/dec/05/how-pizzagate-went-fake-news-real-problem-dc-busin/
How the QAnon Movement Entered Mainstream Politics — and Why the Silence on Epstein Files Matters, The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/how-the-qanon-movement-entered-mainstream-politics-and-why-the-silence-on-epstein-files-matters-261316
Investigating the Infamous #Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory, Technology Science: https://techscience.org/a/2019121802/
Jeffrey Epstein's 4chan Plan, Byline Times: https://bylinetimes.com/2026/02/06/jeffrey-epsteins-4chan-plan/
Michael Flynn Jr. Is Tweeting About How Debunked Pizzagate Is a Legit Thing, Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/12/michael-flynn-jr-is-tweeting-about-how-debunked-pizzagate-is-a-legit-thing.html
Mike Flynn Jr. Forced Out of Trump Transition Amid Fake-News Controversy, ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-flynn-jr-forced-trump-transition-amid-fake/story?id=44018995
Panic, Pizza and Mainstreaming the Alt-Right: A Social Media Analysis of Pizzagate and the Rise of the QAnon Conspiracy, Current Sociology/SAGE: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00113921211034896
Pizzagate, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pizzagate
Pizzagate: A slice of fake news, Reveal Podcast - The Center for Investigative Reporting: https://revealnews.org/podcast/pizzagate-a-slice-of-fake-news/
Pizzagate News, Research and Analysis, The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/topics/pizzagate-34749
Post-Truth Protest: How 4chan Cooked Up the Pizzagate Bullshit, M/C Journal: https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1422
Resurgent #Pizzagate Myth in Social Media, An Analysis of the, Montclair State University Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=scom-facpubs
Saga of Pizzagate: The Fake Story That Shows How Conspiracy Theories Spread, The, BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-38156985
Websites Promoting Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory Remove Content, NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/14/505577985/webpages-linked-to-pizzeria-shooting-go-dark-even-as-prosecution-moves-forward
What Is Pizzagate and How Did It Lead to a Shooting at a Washington Restaurant, CBC News: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pizzagate-conspiracy-theories-michael-flynn-junior-1.3883406
