If Seth Rich had had any other job – or if it had been any other year – his tragic death would likely have joined the 65 other unsolved murders in his part of Washington DC that year. But Seth worked for the Democratic Party – and this was the summer of 2016. And while his family tried to grieve, Seth’s story was co-opted by every side. Through social media echo-chambering and shameless self-promotion, it grew to include accusations of bloodthirsty politicians; allegations of foreign powers destabilising US elections; and a secretive, high-powered paedophile ring that went all the way to the top. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.