I do wonder if many of the people pushing pedo hysteria are actually pedophiles themselves, attempting to muddy the waters? If everything is pedophilia, then nothing is. I definitely recall more than one "pedo hunter" streamer getting busted for possession of CP.

Perhaps "many" is an overstatement; pedophiles are only ~2% of the population...

Obviously, female intrasexual competition is a huge driver of pedo hysteria — older women attempting to police male sexuality, angry that men are attracted to women younger than themselves. Accusing a man of "pedophilia" is effectively the feminist equivalent of labeling somebody a "nazi." However, female intrasexual competition can't explain the entire phenomenon.