You really couldn't make this up. But someone actually did!
I love a good conspiracy theory, they affirm my cynicism towards secrecy and often big government
, but the best ones have a ring of truth about them. Which is more than can be said of the Wayfair child trafficking conspiracy theory.
Like so much of the bat-crazy shit that goes on these days, this one started online and has been spreading since 14 June. A well-known [but unnamed to those of us not in the know] activist tweeted about the high price of storage cabinets being sold by online retailer, Wayfair
, and noted that they all had girls' names. This led others to conclude, naturally, that the furniture had children hidden inside as part of a child trafficking ring. This explanation was substantiated by the fact that some of the furniture items have the same names as missing US children. Ooooooh!
Wayfair have obviously tried to debunk these accusations, and distance themselves from them. But then they would, wouldn't they?
Overall, although he loves a good conspiracy theory even more than I do, I can't see this one getting Quentin Tarantino's creative juices flowing.
But what strikes me as odd is that IKEA have been naming their stuff for years. Yet the only conspiracy theory concerning IKEA that I'm aware of, because I made it up, is that self-build furniture was introduced to the market to make up for the fact that we no longer have famine and pestilence. Or we didn't, until COVID-19, that is.
The most enlightening thing about all of this whimsical triviality is that it drew my attention to the fact that BBC News has its very own specialist disinformation reporter
. That must be why the BBC is having to extend the payment of licence fees to the over-75s. After all, serious investigative journalism doesn't come cheap.