Thirteen-year-old Samara Duplessis was safe in her room one day in the summer of 2020.
Her father called. “Something’s going on,” he said. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
Her father called. “Something’s going on,” he said. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
More than a dozen people had called him, frantic about whether Samara was okay. Apparently, thousands of people on the Internet were talking about the same thing.
Samara’s name and face were going viral. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
Samara’s name and face were going viral. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
The tweets about her showed an article from two months before, when Samara had run away from home for 48 hours. The article was never updated, so it said she was still “missing.”
Beside it was a screenshot of a “Duplessis” pillow for sale on Wayfair. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
Beside it was a screenshot of a “Duplessis” pillow for sale on Wayfair. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
The person behind the post was seemingly arguing that because the pillow was marked at a ridiculous price, and because its name matched the last name of a child who appeared to be missing, Wayfair was involved in something sinister. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
Similar accusations about cabinets Wayfair was selling were all over Facebook and Reddit.
Within 72 hours, there were an estimated 1.2 million tweets about Wayfair and trafficking.
Every aspect of these claims would be found to be false.
Within 72 hours, there were an estimated 1.2 million tweets about Wayfair and trafficking.
Every aspect of these claims would be found to be false.
https://twitter.com/mjcontrera/status/1471482407173951500?s=20https://wapo.st/3sbb5mL
With limited immediate intervention from social media companies, the Wayfair conspiracy theory would become one of the fastest-spreading disinformation campaigns on the Internet, ensnaring mothers, teenagers and people all along the political spectrum. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
They didn’t realize they were amplifying a QAnon propaganda artist trying to convince the masses that President Donald Trump was saving the country from a ring of Satanic pedophiles.
https://twitter.com/mjcontrera/status/1471483536284831746?s=20
Samara didn’t know anything about algorithms that caused pricing inconsistencies. She’d never heard of QAnon.
She saw only her face. Her name. $9,999.
With every passing minute, her certainty about her safety was slipping away.
wapo.st/3sbb5mL
She saw only her face. Her name. $9,999.
With every passing minute, her certainty about her safety was slipping away.
wapo.st/3sbb5mL
Many of the people who posted her picture wrote that they didn’t know if what they were reading about Wayfair was true, but they figured that sharing it couldn’t hurt.
Samara was about to find out just how much it would. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
Samara was about to find out just how much it would. wapo.st/3sbb5mL
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