WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:07.040
On December fourteen, twenty twelve,
a horrific tragedy took place at Sandy Hook

2
00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:11.800
Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
A gunman entered the school and opened fire,

3
00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.640
killing twenty six people, including twenty
children. In the aftermath of the

4
00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:19.280
shooting, the nation mourned and struggled
to make sense of the senseless violence.

5
00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:23.879
But for some, the tragedy was
not what it seemed. Conspiracy theories began

6
00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:28.000
to circulate, claiming that the shooting
was a hoax staged by the government for

7
00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.839
some unknown reason, and at the
forefront of these theories was Alex Jones,

8
00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:36.359
the founder of Infowers. Jones claims
about Sandy Hook were among his most disgusting

9
00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.479
and offensive. He alleged that the
shooting was a false flag operation, meaning

10
00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:44.000
that it was carried out by the
government as a way to manipulate public opinion

11
00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:48.119
or further some nefarious agenda. He
claimed that the children who were allegedly killed

12
00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:52.039
in the shooting were actually actors,
and that their parents were crisis actors who

13
00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.799
were part of the conspiracy. These
claims were not only false, but deeply

14
00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:59.520
hurtful to the families and loved ones
of the victims. The idea that their

15
00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.560
children had not been killed or that
their grief was somehow manufactured, was a

16
00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:07.319
slap in the face to those who
were struggling to cope with the unimaginable loss

17
00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:11.040
That spread of these theories had real
world consequences, including harassment and death threats

18
00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.599
against the families of the victims.
Jones claims were also completely unsupported by any

19
00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:22.000
credible evidence. The official investigation into
the shooting, conducted by law enforcement and

20
00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:26.239
other authorities, found no evidence of
a conspiracy or a hoax. Instead,

21
00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:30.120
it concluded that the shooter, Adam
Lanza, acted alone and with no clear

22
00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:34.879
motive. The overwhelming consensus among experts
and investigators is that the shooting was a

23
00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.959
real and tragic event, and that
the conspiracy theories surrounding it are baseless.

24
00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:42.719
So why did Jones promote these claims. It is likely that he saw them

25
00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:46.599
as a way to generate attention and
stir up controversy. Jones has built his

26
00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:51.280
career on promoting conspiracy theories and fringe
beliefs, and his followers are often drawn

27
00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:55.239
to his outlandish claims, but in
this case, his actions went beyond mere

28
00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:59.599
provocation by spreading lies and falsehoods.
About a tragedy that claimed the lives of

29
00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:02.359
innocent children. He crossed a line
that should never be crossed. In the

30
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:06.760
end, the Sandy Hook shooting was
a real and terrible event, one that

31
00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:09.439
shook the nation and brought grief to
countless families. The idea that it was

32
00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:15.680
a hoax propagated by conspiracy theorists like
Alex Jones, is not only offensive but

33
00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.000
dangerous. By promoting these claims,
Jones and others like him are contributing to

34
00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:23.400
a culture of mistrust and paranoia,
one in which facts are dismissed in reality

35
00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:29.080
is twisted to fit preconceived beliefs.
We must reject these lies and stand up

36
00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:30.639
for the truth in the name of
the victims and their families.