Benjamin Kelly, an aide to state representative Shawn Harrison, repeated a conspiracy theory often used after mass shootingsAn aide to a Florida lawmaker was fired after falsely suggesting that student survivors of the mass shooting in Parkland were “actors”, repeating a conspiracy theory that has been used to harass victims. When asked for evidence, Kelly sent a link to a YouTube conspiracy video targeting one of the students, the newspaper reported. I asked for more information to back up the claim and was sent another email that linked to a YouTube conspiracy video. Conspiracy videos targeting one of the students, David Hogg, rapidly spread on YouTube, which appeared to be prominently promoting the footage in search results on Tuesday. Senator Marco Rubio, who has faced backlash this week for accepting money from the National Rifle Association, said that calling the students actors was “the work of a disgusting group of idiots with no sense of decency”.

Source: The Guardian February 21, 2018 01:25 UTC