These days, a conspiracy theory can burn through a population like a pathogen. And while these theories are built on top of untruths, the ripples they send out in the world can be very real.Jessica Contrera of The Washington Post recently traced one such ripple: “QAnon con: How the viral Wayfair sex trafficking lie hurt real kids” published Dec. 16, 2021. It tarted with outlandish claims that Wayfair, an online home-goods and furniture company, was involved in human trafficking. As the claim multiplied and mutated, it swept up victims, including a teenager falsely tabbed as a victim, and sex-trafficking opponents who watched as attempts to help real victims were overtaken by hysteria over fake ones.
Origen: How a reporter found the true story behind a false story of sex trafficking – Nieman Storyboard