Florida shooting survivor David Hogg forced to deny 'crisis actor' claims amid smear campaign

David Hogg is the victim of a smear campaign
Alexandra Richards22 February 2018

A survivor of the Florida mass shooting who has become a voice for his school has become the victim of a smear campaign.

David Hogg has been accused by conspiracy theorists of being a “pawn” for anti-gun campaigners, with some saying he is not a victim but a “crisis actor” paid to travel to disaster sites and advocate stricter gun laws.

Some 17 staff and pupils were killed in last week's attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Mr Hogg was forced to deny the malicious allegations in the wake of the atrocity.

He said: "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.

"I'm not acting on anybody's behalf"

Mr Hogg and several other students who witnessed the attack spoke out about the need for stricter gun laws following the mass shooting at their high school which resulted in the death of 17 students.

Following his comments many YouTube videos and memes emerged claiming that some of the students are “actors” working for antigun groups.

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Some claimed that Mr Hogg had been coached by his father, a former FBI agent to speak out against Donald Trump.

Donald Trump Jr appeared to endorse this theory on Twitter.

Mr Hogg said about the claims: "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."

US Senator Marco Rubio came to the defence of the students who have come under fire.

He said: “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."

When Mr Hogg was asked if he was in favour of banning the second amendment which allows every US citizen the right to bear arms, he said he would not "want to take a constitutional right away from American citizens."

He said he believed that Americans should be able to own guns providing that they are mentally stable and have no previous convictions.

"We have a right to live just as we have a right to bear arms," he said.

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