One of the survivors of the Florida high school shooting which killed 17 people and injured at least 50 has been accused of being a 'crisis actor' by conspiracy theorists.
Theorists have claimed that 17-year-old David Hogg, one of the kids who was present at the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is an actor being used by anti-gun groups to push their agenda.
According to the BBC, theorists argue that Hogg and other students at the shooting are part of a group of actors who travel across the US to sites of mass shootings in order to advocate for gun control.
Advert
WATCH DAVID HOGG DISMISS THE CONSPIRACY THEORY BELOW:
A video titled 'DAVID HOGG THE ACTOR' was uploaded to YouTube before YouTube took it down for violating the website's policy on discrimination and bullying.
Disturbingly, the US President's son Donald Trump Jr. was even found to have liked a tweet linking to an article promoting the conspiracy theory.
Advert
The tweet read: "Could it be that this student is running cover for his dad who works as an FBI agent at the Miami field office Which botched tracking down the Man behind the Valentine day massacre?
"Just wondering. Just connecting some dots..."
The son of a former FBI agent, Hogg has become one of the most outspoken Marjory Stoneman Douglas students in the aftermath of the shooting,
Advert
Along with Emma Gonzalez, who this past weekend gave a rousing speech at a gun control rally, Hogg has featured prominently in the media calling for greater reform to gun control laws.
The claims made in the theory about Hogg were repeated to the Tampa Bay Times by an aide to a Florida state representative, Shawn Harrison, who quickly fired the aide and denounced his behaviour.
Hogg has now been forced to defend himself, making a statement to CNN stressing that he doesn't want to take away Americans' Second Amendment rights.
Advert
"I'm not a crisis actor. I'm someone who had to witness this and live through this and I continue to be having to do that," Hogg told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
"I'm not acting on anyone's behalf. Unlike the people who are tweeting that stuff about me and my dad, I haven't lost hope in America and my dad hasn't either."
Hogg has been backed up by politicians and his fellow Douglas students alike including former presidential candidate Marco Rubio, Senator for Florida, and Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu.
"THIS CONSPIRACY THEORY IS INSANE. Our kids know David Hogg. My wife and I know his mom, who taught at our kids' elementary school before they moved to Florida," Lieu tweeted.
Advert
"Although David is very articulate, he is not a crisis actor. He is a student who lost 17 of his classmates to bullets."
Hogg's Douglas classmate Liz Stout also confirmed Hogg and Gonzalez are who they say they are, saying that Hogg 'sits beside her in astronomy'.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: News, conspiracy theories, US News, Politics
