Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting In Parkland, Florida
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Students hug in front of Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 20, 2018.
It was Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2018. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, lost 17 students and staff members in a fatal shooting carried out by 19-year-old expelled student Nikolas Cruz.
Conspiracy theories and smear campaigns targeted the vocal anti-gun Parkland student David Hogg. Rumors circulated that he was either a crisis actor, involved in a larger FBI plot, or not even near the school when the shootings occurred.
The website Red State used an out-of-context quote by Hogg to suggest he rode his bike to the school after the shooting. The article lamented, “It is not possible for him to have been in class and also have been at home, a three-mile bike ride away from campus. One of those stories is a lie.”
Realizing the error — and that Hogg was indeed at the school earlier, as he stated — Red State acknowledged the mistake and issued a correction. Unfortunately, the original article had already gained traction on the internet, and some wouldn’t be dissuaded, despite the fact that Hogg is shown in a video with others in hiding in a classroom.
“It was hot in there,” Hogg told Time. “We were packed in tight….Some students were crying.”
