No, the FBI has not confirmed ‘pizzagate’ is real
FILE - The FBI seal is pictured in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 10, 2022. The Associated Press on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, reported on social media posts falsely claiming that the FBI has confirmed that the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory is real. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
CLAIM: The FBI has confirmed that the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory is real.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The FBI says it has made no such announcement about the long-debunked rumor. No proof has even been produced to suggest “pizzagate” — a conspiracy theory that Democrats were harboring child sex slaves in a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor — is in any way credible. The claim comes from a website known to spread misinformation, which cited a statement from an FBI agent in an unrelated case.
THE FACTS: In the latest sign that “pizzagate” is making a comeback online, social media users are claiming the FBI has acknowledged the long-dormant conspiracy theory is actually true.
Some of those reviving the theory in recent days are sharing a screenshot of a post by The People’s Voice with the headline: “FBI Make Major Announcement: ‘Pizzagate Is Real’.”
But the website has a history of spreading misinformation and fake quotes, and its post provides no evidence of the FBI making such an announcement. Spokespersons for The People’s Voice didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
Instead, the post focuses on a court document in the case of Clinton Harnden, a Texas A&M University employee who was arrested earlier this month on charges of illegally possessing child sexual abuse images.
Connor Hagan, an FBI spokesperson, confirmed the complaint filed in Houston federal court this month alleges that Harnden discussed and exchanged child sexual abuse material with others in online chats, often using the code word “pizza.”
A sworn affidavit by an FBI agent included in the complaint explains that “‘pizza’ and/or ‘cheese pizza’ is a known slang/code-word used by individuals to discuss CSAM in public forums without detection.”
But Hagan said the agency has “made no statements regarding ‘Pizzagate’ related to this case.”
He stressed that “pizza” and related terms are among dozens of words, phrases and emojis used by purveyors of child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.
“I would caution against making a correlation between ‘Pizzagate’ and specific coded language used by CSAM predators since numerous codes emerged after CSAM became prolific on the internet,” Hagan wrote in an email.
“Predators around the globe will use whatever techniques they can to exploit underage victims and thwart law enforcement investigations, including coded language on various websites and social media platforms,” he added, pointing to a Justice Department report on the phenomenon.
The federal public defender’s office for southern Texas, which is representing Harnden, declined to comment.
The Texas A&M University System wrote in an emailed reply Friday that Harnden remains under house arrest in Houston and isn’t currently working on the College Station campus. It added that it has completed its own investigation into the matter and “will take appropriate action,” without elaborating.
The “pizzagate” theory was popular among supporters of Republican Donald Trump during his winning 2016 campaign for president, and led a North Carolina man to travel to Washington and fire a rifle in a local pizza parlor where he believed children were being enslaved.
Among the supposed evidence cited by proponents was that the eatery, Comet Ping Pong, was mentioned in some emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign that were obtained by hackers. The conspiracy theorists tied this to the notion that “pizza” had been used online as a codeword for child sexual abuse material.
The People’s Voice headline spread as tech mogul Elon Musk and other prominent social media users boosted “pizzagate” back into the national consciousness by sharing a meme featuring cast members from the television show “The Office.”
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
