Parkland School Shooting Survivors Subject Of Conspiracies
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Conspiracy theorists are attacking the credibility of the Parkland school shooting survivors.
In one case they are using a months-old CBS2 report to do it.
Last August CBS2 interviewed David Hogg about a confrontation in Redondo Beach between a lifeguard and a bodysurfer that was caught on camera.
Hogg is also a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was there the day of the tragic shooting and is among the many faces and voices speaking out about gun control in the wake of the Valentine's Day attack.
Some extreme right-wing websites are claiming he is not a Parkland student but instead an actor with an agenda.
The CBS2 interview with Hogg last August now has several right-wing websites and social media abuzz, questioning whether Hogg is really a student who endured the shooting or if he is an actor trying to take advantage of the tragedy. Some have bought the story.
Florida state Rep. Shawn Harrison (R) tweeted about the dismissal of an aide who claimed the shooting survivors were actors.
I was just made aware that my aide made an insensitive and inappropriate allegation about Parkland students today. I have spoken to him and placed him on leave until we determine an appropriate course of action. I do not share his opinion and he did so without my knowledge.
— Shawn Harrison (@ShawnHarrisonFL) February 20, 2018
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio also tweeted about the conspiracy theory.
Claiming some of the students on tv after #Parkland are actors is the work of a disgusting group of idiots with no sense of decency
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 20, 2018
CBS2 has confirmed that Hogg is in fact 17 years old and a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He heads the student TV station there. Hogg's father is a retired FBI agent.