Viral images and posts distributed by social media users make a series of extreme claims linking Wayfair, an e-shopping retailer with an alleged human trafficking operation. These claims are false and fueled by conspiracy theories.
Reuters Fact Check. REUTERS / Axel Schmidt
The theory went viral after it emerged in the Reddit r / conspiracy section on July 9 (here), with an accusation that the very high prices of various furniture items listed on the Wayfair market and their quirky names they were evidence of a child trafficking operation. . By Friday, July 10, the topic was trending on Twitter in the US.
A Twitter post, for example, said social media users suspected Wayfair was selling people in cabinets, given the price range and the fact that the items had “all female names,” some of which matched. with the names of people allegedly missing. ( here ). Other examples of the claim are visible here, here and here.
ITEM PRICE
In most iterations of this claim, the high price of Wayfair items provided social media users with cause for suspicion. The posts point to a number of items, including cabinets and pillows, that sell for a range of $ 10-15,000.
Wayfair provided Reuters with the following statement, denying the allegations against the company and clarifying some of the reasons behind its price: “Of course, there is no truth to these claims. The products in question are industrial grade cabinets with accurate pricing. Recognizing that the photos and descriptions provided by the supplier did not adequately explain the high price, we have temporarily removed the products from the site to rename them and provide a more detailed description and photos that accurately describe the product to clarify the price. point.”
While this price range is unusual for Wayfair household items, the company also sells larger items for commercial and business use. Wayfair told Reuters by phone that the higher price reflects the larger size of these items, as well as the associated shipping costs for such large items (designed for restaurants, industrial plants, etc.).
NAMES
Many instances of the publication claimed that the names of the cabinets matched the names of the missing children.
A social media post, for example, suggested that an apparent news report about a missing teenager named Samiyah Mumin was linked to a cabinet called “Samiyah,” priced at $ 12,899.99 (here).
On Facebook, Mumin herself denounced conspiracy theories for diverting attention from children who are actually missing. “Do you know how many people are really missing? Do you know how many families of people are looking for them? (here) Mumin says in her video that she never got lost to begin with.
A Wayfair spokesperson told Reuters that the company uses an algorithm to name its products. The algorithm uses “names, geographic locations, and common words for naming purposes.”
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, almost 800,000 children are reported missing each year, which means there are many names that can be linked to missing child reports. In the United States, 99 percent of reported missing people return home (here).
It’s not uncommon for furniture retailers to name their items with human names (here; here; here; here).
SEARCH OF ITEM NUMBER
Some posts allege that a query on Wayfair inventory numbers, preceded by the letters SRC USA, on the Russian search engine Yandex (yandex.com/) returned images of little girls in bathing suits.
This seems to be true, but, as Newsweek first reported, search results are always the same with any random string of numbers, refuting a conspiracy hint (here).
Reuters tries to look up the numbers in the claims, as well as random numbers on Friday, Newsweek’s conclusion confirmed. As of Monday, July 13, the Yandex algorithm seemed to have leaked some of these search results that showed more random photos and no longer appeared to show children. Yandex did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
VERDICT
False. There is no evidence linking Wayfair to a human trafficking operation.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to verify social media posts here.
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