Actress Roseanne Barr faced heavy criticism on social media this weekend after posting a tweet apparently indicating support for an online conspiracy theory claiming President Trump is involved in combating a global trafficking ring tied to the “deep state.”
In a tweet posted Friday night, the “Roseanne” star alleged that Trump was breaking up human trafficking rings and freeing “hundreds” of children in sex slavery around the world every month.
“President Trump has freed so many children held in bondage to pimps all over this world. Hundreds each month. He has broken up trafficking rings in high places everywhere. notice that. I disagree on some things, but give him benefit of doubt-4 now,” the actress wrote.
Why Trump Should Be Thanking Roseanne Bigly https://t.co/Tslu7gchLl via @tabletmag
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) 31 March 2018
What? https://t.co/iVuJWFWT8o
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) 31 March 2018
Journalists quickly noted that Barr’s claim appeared to indicate her support for a conspiracy theory that alleges the existence of a massive child-trafficking ring linked to rogue elements in the government tied to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.
The conspiracy has been traced to an anonymous user identified as “Q” or “QAnon” on the online message board 4Chan. Twitter users noted that Barr has mentioned Q in past tweets as recently as November.
The conspiracy theory is similar to the “Pizzagate” theory that led to a man firing shots inside a Washington, D.C., pizzeria in 2016 in an attempt to “investigate” the claims.
Barr’s tweet led to backlash from members of the media, Democrats and other public figures, including former Nixon White House counsel John Dean, who slammed Barr’s network, ABC, for giving her a platform.