Portraits of Children Listed on Etsy for $50,000 Spark Conspiracy Theories

An unsettling trend has emerged on Etsy, where portraits of young girls are being listed for as much as $50,000, a price that has set off alarm bells among social media users and in conspiracy theory circles.

The artworks, posted by a seller under the name MICHELANJELO, have drawn attention for their strikingly high valuation, which has led to a resurgence of child trafficking allegations reminiscent of the discredited Pizzagate conspiracy.

The listings were first brought to public attention through a post on X, formally Twitter. The user, @dom_lucre, surfaced the extraordinary prices of the portraits, such as "MAYA, portrait of a girl," which are significantly higher than other items within the same online shop, with some artwork priced as low as $35.

"Etsy is currently selling a portrait of this little girl for $50,000.00 and I believe I should investigate why," the user said in the tweet which has garnered more than 3.5 million views.

The discrepancy stirred a storm of speculation, with some netizens drawing comparisons to the infamous Pizzagate and Wayfair conspiracy theories, suggesting that the listings might be a cover for nefarious activities.

Another X user said they used Google Lens to trace the origins of the artwork, sharing the findings with a post: "I ran the photo through google lens....this is worldwide. One is even called pizza oil painting. Something is going on..."

The post, accompanied by a screenshot, indicated the widespread availability of the $50,000 "ORPHAN" painting, which hints at a potentially far-reaching issue that stretches across borders.

The theories have been fueled by the artist's choice of moniker, a play on the name of the Renaissance master Michelangelo, which some interpret as a deliberate attempt to deceive. Users across various platforms, including 4chan and Reddit, have called for a thorough investigation, echoing previous calls for accountability during the Wayfair scandal in which overpriced furniture listings led to similar baseless trafficking claims.

In response to Newsweek's inquiry about the extraordinary listings from the seller MICHELANJELO, Etsy reiterated its commitment to community safety and clarified that the claims are baseless, relating to conspiracy theories that have been debunked. Etsy said that its terms require sellers to not post fraudulent or deceptive content, and listings are evaluated and removed as warranted.

Etsy removed the shop MICHELANJELO, noting that the seller never actually made any sales on the platform. The removal followed a period when several listings had more than 10 people with the items in their carts, Newsweek confirmed.

While the high prices of these Etsy listings are unusual, they are not in themselves evidence of criminal activity, and there is no evidence to suggest that Etsy is involved with criminal activity.

The removal of the MICHELANJELO listings from Etsy, coming after Newsweek's inquiry, mirrors an inquiry by Newsweek this month in which unusually high-value listings from multiple sellers led to action by the platform.

The situation evokes previous conspiracy theories that have found fertile ground online, such as the infamous Pizzagate narrative, which falsely alleged a child trafficking ring run by high-ranking political officials. Despite being thoroughly debunked, such theories have demonstrated a persistent capacity to resurface and evolve.

The mention of the theories is pertinent, not to lend them credibility but to understand their cultural impact and the pattern of their recurrence. Prominent cases like that of Jeffrey Epstein have shown that crimes of this nature do occur, which perhaps lends a veneer of plausibility to such theories.

Yet, it's essential to note that the specifics of the allegations leveled against platforms like Etsy and Wayfair in the conspiracy theories remain unsubstantiated.