Written By Ed Zuckerman
Directed By Martha Mitchell
A US Representative asks SVU to debunk sexual assault rumors purported against him by a viral "news" site. However, things take a twist when the same news site targets Benson and Rollins, posting pictures of them with their children and spreading false rumors about the nature of their families.
Tropes:
- Accidental Truth: Despite Duca being wrong about the Chinese diner and Congressman, turns out the SVU stumbled upon an actual sex trafficking ring in the course of their investigation.
- Berserk Button: The team is dealing with a conspiracy theorist pushing stuff on his website like a Congressman using a Chinese restaurant as a sex slave ring. At first, they treat the guy's site as just an annoyance getting in the way. But then he pushes a story on how Benson and Rollins are both "mothers of children of unknown origin", blatantly hinting they stole their kids and are thus covering up a "sex scandal". Needless to say, the two women are now joined in taking this guy down.Finn: (seeing Liv interrogate the guy with no punches pulled) Think she's going to rip his head off?Rollins: If she doesn't, I will.
- Cruel Twist Ending: At the end of the episode, after the SVU had broken up the pedophile ring, Congressman Bolton appeared at the Chinese restaurant to show there was nothing wrong happening there...only for a guy who believed Duca's false claims to assassinate him.
- Insane Troll Logic: A website puts out word of a Congressman using a Chinese diner as a sex slave operation. Rollins and Finn go the site's owner who shows "proof" in the form of an e-mail the Congressman sent about how the place got a "fresh batch of Chinese broccoli" in and they have to try it. As they shrug, the man just laughs on how it's "obvious" that's code for an underage Chinese sex slave as "who eats dinner at 4 pm?"Owner: On pedophile boards, CB stands for Child Brides.Finn: It can also stand for Chinese broccoli.
- To further his "proof" the man shows off photos of young women leaving and asking "Where are their mothers?" He then shows how the diner's logo is a dragon with a tail he claims is heart-shaped which matches a pedophile symbol. Rollins can only Face Palm in response to this lunacy.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the Pizzagate conspiracy, in which a family pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. was falsely accused of being a front for a Democrat run pedophile ring. A gunman did show up as well, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
