this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2026
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There were and are so many dumb and incorrect conspiracy theories that I think it's understandable that people would outright dismiss them, even if there was a real conspiracy.
Take the deep state. Sure, you can say that there absolutely is a deep state of oligarchs influencing/controlling governments. But if you read about that topic on conspiracy forums, you'll quickly find it getting entangled in bullshit like Pizzagate or QAnon. They said Donald Trump would be the one to finally "expose the deep state", which is just laughable. On the same forums you'll find stuff like "flat earth". So why would anyone use those places as sources of trustworthy information?
Can someone set me straight on Pizzagate? Like, sure what it evolved into was BS, with people storming a pizza parlor looking for non-existent basements. But... I mean fuck, look at the emails in the Epstein files, compare them with the Podesta emails...
Are we really trying to say that "pizza" WASN'T being used as code between high-profile individuals in Washington? People still bring up Pizzagate as if it were all conspiracy nonsense, but I'm sitting here reading actual emails between grown adults high up in politics who are salivating over the thought of sharing fresh, young pizza and being VERY particular about the toppings. Not to mention the other foods that are talked about in a similar batshit crazy way (jerky, tuna/sushi, pink/black shrimp, etc.).
Normal people do not talk about food like this. And at its core, wasn't Pizzagate about high-profile individuals using pizza as a code to traffic children? While there is no smoking gun (yet) that proves pizza and other foods were 100% code for children... Come on. It's clear they AREN'T just talking about food. And it's all found smack dab in the middle of a global conspiracy that has a focus on trafficking minors!!
So, again, someone tell me WHY we're still treating Pizzagate as completely debunked nonsense? The specifics at the end were wrong and the whole movement was likely taken over by controlled opposition by the end of things. But the core conspiracy? Are we just pretending there's nothing there? Are people so disgusted by the idea that they are just preferring to call it debunked when it really hasn't been? Has the opposition been successful in proliferating the narrative that only conspiracy theorists believe Pizzagate, and nothing conspiracy theorists believe is real? Why the fuck aren't we talking about this more?!
I bring this up and people act like all they heard was television static. How does this keep getting memory holed?!
A network of rich and powerful people influencing the state isn't "the deep state" it's "the state"
Like what makes anyone think they are hiding it?
Words I have heard in real life is that there are people we aren't powerful enough or wealthy enough to know about. Having a boogey man keeps the fear and powerlessness strong.
Thelose are just "other rich people" that have the good sense to stay out of the public eye.
It's gotten to the point where a lot of people very clearly think even the word conspiracy means "a crazy nonsense theory". They'll say "it's not a conspiracy..." and then proceed to describe a textbook conspiracy.
there's a conspiracy theory that the term "conspiracy theory" was intentionally manipulated in the cultural lexicon to include both realistically plausible things and pseudoscientific nonsense. this creates an equivalence in perception between people who say "the FBI killed MLK" and people who say "aliens abducted me and took me to the other side of the flat earth where I met Bigfoot," so that any accusation against the government is immediately dismissed
Apparently owner of 4chan added /pol/ the day after meeting with Epstein. They called it a “great means of manipulation” IIRC. So I think there may be some truth to this. The whole Pizzagate thing may have been a way to make it seem like anyone who thinks the ultra-wealthy are child predators seem crazy