Sandy Hook conspiracy theory

Extracted Attributes

• Alleged Model

  Operation Closed Campus (a canceled 2011 Iowa school-shooting drill)

• Victim Impact

  Relentless online abuse, stalking, doxxing, and death threats against grieving families

• Core Allegation

  The 2012 shooting was a government-orchestrated hoax using crisis actors to promote gun control.

• Legal Consequences

  Defamation lawsuits resulting in millions of dollars in punitive damages

• Primary Proponents

  Alex Jones, James Fetzer, James Tracy

Timeline

• The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurs in Newtown, Connecticut, resulting in 26 deaths. (Source: undefined)

  2012-12-14

• Early media reports document conspiracy theorists claiming the tragedy was an elaborate government hoax. (Source: undefined)

  2013-01-15

• A man is convicted for harassing families; victims like Robbie Parker are confronted in public by deniers. (Source: undefined)

  2016-01-01

• Parents of several children killed in the shooting launch defamation lawsuits against Alex Jones. (Source: undefined)

  2018-01-01

• Alex Jones reverses his stance in legal proceedings, acknowledging that the massacre was real. (Source: undefined)

  2019-01-01

• A jury orders Alex Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to two Sandy Hook parents. (Source: undefined)

  2022-08-05

• The All-In podcast discusses the reinstatement of Alex Jones on X and the legacy of harm from his Sandy Hook theories. (Source: undefined)

  2023-12-15

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting conspiracy theories

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws. The more common conspiracy theory, adopted initially by James Fetzer, James Tracy, and others, and further popularized by Alex Jones, denied that the massacre actually occurred, asserting that it was faked. The massacre was described by Fetzer and Tracy as a classified training exercise involving members of federal and local law enforcement, the news media, and crisis actors, which they claim was modeled on Operation Closed Campus, an Iowa school-shooting drill that was canceled in 2011 amid threats and public outcry. Jones described the shooting incident as "synthetic, completely fake with actors; in my view, manufactured [...] it just shows how bold they are that they clearly used actors." No evidence supports the conspiracy theories, which make a number of implausible claims. Moreover, many Sandy Hook conspiracy theories contradict one another. A number of sources have published articles debunking various claims put forward by conspiracy theorists. In 2018, the parents of several children killed in the Sandy Hook shooting launched a lawsuit against Jones and other authors of conspiracy videos for defamation, accusing them of engaging in a campaign of "false, cruel, and dangerous assertions". In 2019, Jones reversed his stance and stated that the massacre was real.

Web Search Results

• Column: A decade after Sandy Hook, conspiracy theories still ...

  Sandy Hook also marked a turning point in the nature of conspiracy theories and their targets. Before Sandy Hook, popular American conspiracy theories generally vilified shadowy elites or forces within the government. Many 9/11 “truthers,” for example, believed the government was behind the terrorist attacks, but they generally left victims’ families alone. [...] Sandy Hook conspiracy theorists accused family members of those killed, survivors of the shooting, religious leaders, neighbors and first responders of being part of a government plot. [...] The kind of harassment and death threats that Sandy Hook families faced has also become a common fallout of conspiracy theories. In the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which Jones encouraged his listeners to investigate, the owners and employees of a Washington pizza parlor alleged to be part of a pedophile ring that included politicians were targeted. In 2016, one man drove hundreds of miles to investigate and fired his assault rifle in the restaurant.

• Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting conspiracy theories

  Writing about the Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, Benjamin Radford argued that most conspiracy theorists who allege contradictions in official accounts ignore contradictions in their own accounts, citing research from the University of Kent that conspiracy theorists selectively focus on or ignore particular details in order to fit their preferred narrative. The conspiracy theories have also been called evidence of "the need for a national debate on mental illness." [...] No evidence supports the conspiracy theories, which make a number of implausible claims. Moreover, many Sandy Hook conspiracy theories contradict one another. A number of sources have published articles debunking various claims put forward by conspiracy theorists. In 2018, the parents of several children killed in the Sandy Hook shooting launched a lawsuit against Jones and other authors of conspiracy videos for defamation, accusing them of engaging in a campaign of "false, cruel, and dangerous [...] 26. ^ "Conspiracy theorists claim Sandy Hook tragedy is elaborate government hoax". The Vancouver Sun. January 15, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2013. 27. ^ Pearce, Matt (December 31, 2012). "Body of Connecticut shooter Adam Lanza quietly claimed by his father". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.

• Debunking the most persistent conspiracy theories on mass shootings

  There are some popular – and thoroughly debunked – conspiracy theories that keep popping up after every mass shooting. Sandy Hook was fake. The Vegas shooting was carried out by multiple shooters. Columbine was a result of bullying. Add to that, a new cottage industry of conspiracy theories that’s already springing up around the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida. [...] The conspiracy theory: The murders of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012 were shocking. But the fact there are people out there who believe it didn’t happen is downright stupefying. The false narrative that Newtown, Connecticut, massacre was faked by the government is pushed by a number of conspiracy theorists, including Inforwars founder Alex Jones. [...] The truth: While it’s true that investigators named two people as persons of interest in the early days of the investigtion, neither have been charged with a crime. One was Paddock’s girlfriend who has since been publicly cleared in the case. The other was a business associate. ## Sandy Hook CNN illustration

• Sandy Hook ushered in new era of conspiracy and lies, author finds

  At one point, there was a conspiracy theorist who had spread some of these lies about Sandy Hook, who was living around the corner from him. ... [Lenny] doesn't allow people to see his face [in interviews]. He doesn't allow himself to be photographed in the media, and these conspiracy theorists had picked up a detail in the railing of the balcony of his apartment building outside the window and tracked the building and posted it online. Another time, a man who has since been convicted of [...] Williamson's new book, Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth, examines how conspiracists tormented the victims' parents by accusing them of being "crisis actors." In the years since the tragedy, the families have endured relentless online abuse, stalking and personal threats. In 2016, Parker was visiting Seattle with his family when a man approached him on the street and accused him of lying about Emilie's death, as Williamson recounts. [...] [Lenny] has lived in hiding ever since he began to engage these individuals, the hoaxers, the spreaders of Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. They have repeatedly posted his personal information, his Social Security number, his phone numbers and those of Veronique, his ex-wife, his family and extended family, online. He has moved, at this point, about a dozen times, mostly because these people keep posting his address online.

• 198: Alex Jones, Sandy Hook “Deniers,” and Why it… | Brady United

  Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been in the news again, this time as he sits in court for the first of three defamation damages cases against him. The cases have been brought by some families who lost children and loved ones in the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. [...] Alex Jones concedes Sandy Hook attack was '100% real' (AP News) A jury tags Alex Jones with $45.2 million in punitive damages for 2 Sandy Hook parents (NPR) A Sandy Hook Mother Confronts Alex Jones (New York Times) Mom who confronted Alex Jones says he slipped her a note at trial (CNN) ## Read More ### 168: Rising Anti-Semitic Gun Violence, Its Causes and Effects, and Where We Go From Here ### 167: QAnon — the Violence, the Guns, and the Threat Posed by This Popular Conspiracy Theory [...] In this minisode, hosts Kelly and JJ break down why this case matters so much to gun violence prevention, and where we go from here with conspiracy theorists and misinformation.