Right-Wing Media Uses Parkland Shooting as Conspiracy Fodder
- 6 years ago
Right-Wing Media Uses Parkland Shooting as Conspiracy Fodder
On Tuesday, the president’s son Donald J. Trump Jr. liked a pair of tweets
that accused David Hogg, a 17-year-old who is among the most outspoken of the Parkland students, of criticizing the Trump administration in an effort to protect his father, whom Mr. Hogg has described as a retired F. B.I.
In an on-air appearance, Jack Kingston, a former United States representative from Georgia
and a regular CNN commentator, asked, “Do we really think — and I say this sincerely — do we really think 17-year-olds on their own are going to plan a nationwide rally?” (He was quickly rebuked by the anchor Alyson Camerota.)
But in certain right-wing corners of the web — and, increasingly, from more mainstream voices like Rush Limbaugh and a commentator on CNN — the students are being portrayed not as grief-ridden survivors
but as pawns and conspiracists intent on exploiting a tragedy to undermine the nation’s laws.
In written posts and YouTube videos — one of which had more than 100,000 views as of Tuesday night — Gateway Pundit has argued
that Mr. Hogg had been coached on what to say during his interviews.
The teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., who a week ago lost 17 of their classmates
and school staff members in a mass shooting, have emerged as passionate advocates for reform, speaking openly of their anger in the hope of forcing a reckoning on guns.
Mr. Hogg, the high school’s student news director, has become a sensation among many liberals for his polished
and compelling television interviews, in which he has called on lawmakers to enact tougher restrictions on guns.
Just as quickly, Mr. Hogg attracted the disdain of right-wing provocateurs like The Gateway Pundit, a fringe website
that gained prominence in 2016 for pushing conspiracies about voter fraud and Hillary Clinton.
On Tuesday, the president’s son Donald J. Trump Jr. liked a pair of tweets
that accused David Hogg, a 17-year-old who is among the most outspoken of the Parkland students, of criticizing the Trump administration in an effort to protect his father, whom Mr. Hogg has described as a retired F. B.I.
In an on-air appearance, Jack Kingston, a former United States representative from Georgia
and a regular CNN commentator, asked, “Do we really think — and I say this sincerely — do we really think 17-year-olds on their own are going to plan a nationwide rally?” (He was quickly rebuked by the anchor Alyson Camerota.)
But in certain right-wing corners of the web — and, increasingly, from more mainstream voices like Rush Limbaugh and a commentator on CNN — the students are being portrayed not as grief-ridden survivors
but as pawns and conspiracists intent on exploiting a tragedy to undermine the nation’s laws.
In written posts and YouTube videos — one of which had more than 100,000 views as of Tuesday night — Gateway Pundit has argued
that Mr. Hogg had been coached on what to say during his interviews.
The teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., who a week ago lost 17 of their classmates
and school staff members in a mass shooting, have emerged as passionate advocates for reform, speaking openly of their anger in the hope of forcing a reckoning on guns.
Mr. Hogg, the high school’s student news director, has become a sensation among many liberals for his polished
and compelling television interviews, in which he has called on lawmakers to enact tougher restrictions on guns.
Just as quickly, Mr. Hogg attracted the disdain of right-wing provocateurs like The Gateway Pundit, a fringe website
that gained prominence in 2016 for pushing conspiracies about voter fraud and Hillary Clinton.