Susan Raine, Kilian LaBonte-bon
In this article, we examine conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton that emerged before and during the 2016 American presidential campaign and election. These conspiracies characterize Clinton as an evil, Satan-worshipping child predator witch who has her enemies murdered to silence them. An examination of key conspiracies illuminates the central anxieties that Clinton posed to the normative, largely masculine, political order in the United States. By focusing on the Clinton Body Count, Pizzagate, Andrenochrome, Kuru, and Frazzledrip conspiracy theories, as well as other conspiratorial narratives, we suggest that a clear pattern emerges—one that demonstrates that Clinton has been subjected to a modern-day witch-hunt and can be theorized accordingly. Vitriolic and relentless conspiracy theories about Clinton, along with misogynistic stereotypes and caricatures of her, fueled fears about feminism and its perceived threats to religious–political conservatism. Like the claims made against women during the European witch hunts, conspiracy theories about Clinton appear absurd: allegations of demonic allegiance, cannibalism, murder, ritualistic abuse of children, blood sucking, and more. Combining contemporary research on witch-hunt criteria and scholarship on conspiracy theories and on gender, we argue that Clinton’s political (and other) achievements as a self-identifying feminist woman made her an imperative target for populist conspiracy theorizing. Clinton’s breach of gendered socio-political norms and her challenge to the inherently masculine “divine order” led her opponents to demonize her. The unfiltered and unchecked diatribe against her made for a public spectacle: an intense reminder of what can happen to women who are viewed as out of place and out of control.