Hillary Clinton addressed conspiracy theories about her in an interview published by the The New York Times on Friday.
She appears to blames social media and Marjorie Taylor Greene for their roles in spreading the “false theories”.
Clinton said that the attacks against her relying on baseless theories, like ones that allege she belongs to a satanic cult, are part of larger cultural sexism and misogyny.
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She said: “This is rooted in ancient scapegoating of women, of doing everything to undermine women in the public arena, women with their own voices, women who speak up against power and the patriarchy”
She then went on “This is a Salem Witch Trials line of argument against independent, outspoken, pushy women. And it began to metastasize around me.”
Yahoo news reports: The former first lady also addressed how theories against her had been propagated on social media, appearing to blame social-media platforms for the views and theories that have been espoused by individuals like Greene, who this week was stripped through a House vote of her committee assignments as a result of her past and recent comments.
“We are facing a mass addiction with the effective purveying of disinformation on social media,” Clinton said. “I don’t have one iota of sympathy for someone like her, but the algorithms, we are now understanding more than ever we could have, truly are addictive. And whatever it is in our brains for people who go down those rabbit holes, and begin to inhabit this alternative reality, they are, in effect, made to believe.”
As Insider’s Rachel E. Greenspan previously reported, Greene has acknowledged numerous baseless theories about Clinton, including “Pizzagate” and “Frazzledrip,” a fictitious video that conspiracy theorists claim shows Hillary Clinton and an aide sexually assault a child, slice off her face, and wear it as a mask.
Democrats, generally, have accused social media companies of being complicit in the spreading of misinformation and disinformation, while Republicans lash out at companies like Facebook and Twitter when their attempts to limit such content involve actions against Republicans, like its permanent suspension of former President Donald Trump in January.
