How pro-Trump conspiracy theorists concluded this pizzeria is home to the imaginary Hillary Clinton paedophilia and Satanism ring

Walk in to Comet Ping Pong, a neighbourhood pizzeria about 3km from the White House, and it does not scream out: “Satanic den”.

Yet according to a fanciful and downright bizarre conspiracy theory sweeping the pro-Donald-Trump internet, the hipsterish restaurant, where customers can play table tennis and enjoy a slice, is at the centre of a devil-worshipping paedophilia ring, frequented by Hillary Clinton and other Democratic Party elites.

So persistent has been the ludicrous theory that the freewheeling Reddit site has banned the “Pizzagate” conspiracy board, citing its policy against posting the personal information of others.

It has also led to some very real harassment of the people caught up in the theory, including the owner of the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria, James Alefantis.

Alefantis has received hundreds of death threats over the past couple of weeks, he told the New York Times this week, after Pizzagate enthusiasts decided that his restaurant was the secret headquarters of a child sex-trafficking ring run by Clinton and members of her inner circle.

None of the wildly accusatory claims are true or remotely plausible. Alefantis told the Times that he asked Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, YouTube and the FBI to help him stop the conspiracy theorists, who are using photos of his own kids as “evidence.”

For some parts of the internet, the leak of stolen emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta provided an opportunity to scour for evidence of wrongdoing. As the Washington City Paper noted, that included a huge search for stronger ties between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Clintons.