Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA Wayfair Child-Trafficking Conspiracy Theory Is Flourishing on TikTok
Despite It Being Completely FalseLate last week, when #wayfair started trending on Twitter, one would have been forgiven for assuming that the hashtag was started by a medium-to-high-end household decor enthusiast. Yet the roots of the trend were much darker than that. In fact, it alluded to a conspiracy theory which began on Reddits r/conspiracy subreddit, according to NBC News Ben Collins, speculating that Wayfair was covertly using its cabinets as shipping containers for a secret child trafficking ring. The evidence for this theory was prices of between $12,699.99 and $14,499.99 for some of its cabinets, combined with the names of these cabinets such as Yaritza, Alivya, and Samiyah, which proponents of the theory speculated were names of the victims.
What came to be known as Wayfairgate quickly took hold among conspiracy theorists, many of whom were QAnon supporters, due in large part to its resemblance to Pizzagate, the 2016 theory speculating that left-wing establishment figures were secretly running a child sex trafficking ring from a D.C. pizza restaurant. Even some more mainstream lifestyle influencers hopped aboard. It particularly took root on Twitter, where, according to Darren Linvill, an associate professor studying social media disinformation at Clemson University, garnered 1.8 million total mentions, with 600,000 in a 24-hour period. (By comparison, Wayfair had about 500 mentions a day prior to last week.)
You cant think of platforms separately, social media is all inter-related, Linvill tells Rolling Stone. This originated on Twitter, took fire on Reddit, and then spread across other platforms quite quickly. It also took off quickly because one, people are bored and at home and two, some of them are really, really dumb.
Link to tweet
?s=20
Naturally, Wayfair considered it less than ideal that it had become the target of a child sex trafficking rumor, and it quickly issued a statement saying there was no truth to these claims. The products in question are industrial grade cabinets that are accurately priced, the company told Rolling Stone. Recognizing that the photos and descriptions provided by the supplier did not adequately explain the high price point, we have temporarily removed the products from site to rename them and to provide a more in-depth description and photos that accurately depict the product to clarify the price point
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/wayfair-child-trafficking-conspiracy-theory-tiktok-1028622/
Someone has too much time on their hands. They also should take their meds.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
5 replies, 809 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
A Wayfair Child-Trafficking Conspiracy Theory Is Flourishing on TikTok (Original Post)
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
Jul 2020
OP
What IS true is Wayfair provides furnishings for the kids in cages concentration camps
Fiendish Thingy
Jul 2020
#4
Dagstead Bumwood
(3,598 posts)1. We purchased an ottoman from them a few years back
but, if memory serves, it did not contain an actual Ottoman.
Alex4Martinez
(2,193 posts)2. !
Silent3
(15,148 posts)3. +1 n/t
Fiendish Thingy
(15,552 posts)4. What IS true is Wayfair provides furnishings for the kids in cages concentration camps
So they should be boycotted, just for the right reasons.
JenniferJuniper
(4,507 posts)5. I just bought a Haylee bench from Wayfair and I can attest
that no waif named Haylee was in the box.