One especially ugly outcome of this election–fake news and the gullible (a kind word for “stupid”) people who believe it–was the nasty fake story about one Washington, DC pizza place.
In that link above, I wrote, “Can fake news get even more deadly?”
Yes. It can.
What concerns a lot of us are the true believers in these fake news conspiracies: stupid, crazy people who ignore factual news and own guns. This is combo guaranteed to make bad things happen.
And bad things just happened again on the premises of Comet Ping Pong:
The man said he wanted to “self-investigate” a baseless online theory tying a restaurant, Comet Ping Pong, to a child abuse ring.
Source: Man Motivated by ‘Pizzagate’ Conspiracy Theory Arrested in Washington Gunfire – The New York Times
A couple of loathsome excerpts in this story about domestic terrorism. What else can we call it?
The man, Edgar M. Welch, 28, of Salisbury, N.C., told the police that he had come to the restaurant, Comet Ping Pong, in northwest Washington, to “self-investigate” what is being called Pizzagate, an online conspiracy theory asserting, with no evidence, that the restaurant is somehow tied to a child abuse ring. He entered the restaurant shortly before 3 p.m. with a rifle and fired it at least once inside, the police said.
…
People inside the restaurant fled, and the police locked down the area, ordering patrons of a nearby bookstore and cafe called Politics and Prose to remain locked inside. Officers with rifles and protective gear surrounded the restaurant and apprehended Mr. Welch. Two additional firearms were found, one on Mr. Welch and the other in his vehicle, the police said.
Then, to add to this act of domestic terrorism, take a look at who has promoted it: Trump appointee Gen. Michael Flynn. Since Flynn apparently actually believes this psychotic, libelous drivel, it would suggest that Flynn himself is non compos mentis.
Yet he’s getting a job in this new fake government.
Days before election, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn tweeted a fake news story alleging the Clinton campaign was being investigated for pedophilia and other felonies.
Source: Trump Adviser Has Pushed Clinton Conspiracy Theories – The New York Times