Dutch town Bodegraven-Reeuwijk sues Twitter to prevent spread of conspiracy theories claiming it was home to pedophile satanist cult

The resurgence of Satanic Panic is another red flag about the spread of irrational, hate-fueled nonsense on the right. But a small town's legal effort to silence a malicious conspiracy theory that spread on Twitter is exactly the wrong way to deal with it: by suing Twitter to get rid of some old tweets, it has only exposed itself toworldwide interest. Welcome to Bodegraven-Reeuwijk, Satan's very own Streisand-Effect City.

False reports that Bodegraven-Reeuwijk was the site of the abuse and murder of multiple children in the 1980s were first circulated by three men in 2020. The main instigator, who grew up in the town near The Hague, said he had witnessed the crimes as a child. Local authorities want to see all posts relating to the alleged events removed.