The Dangerous Rise Of "False Flag" Denials & Accusations
Sandy Hook Elementary School has long been a target of conspiracy theorists and "false flag" deniers
After past assaults such as mass-shootings or terrorist attacks many people would respond to the incident as being the fault of violent video games or a mentally ill individual. More recently, a new type of reaction has gained momentum in the form of "false flag" accusations or denials. In short, this asserts that the attack (the massacre at Sandy Hook purely for example) was either (a) carried out by the government in order to manipulate public emotion and reaction in pursuit of a particular agenda; or (b) that the event never happened and that everyone from the "dead", the "victims", the "responders","relatives", and everyone else involved are simply "crisis actors" taking part in an elaborate hoax. Crisis actors do exist however this is for training purposes for security and counter-terrorism forces. Some may latch onto conspiracy theories and "false flag" accusations after mass-slaughter in order to deny the problem of gun violence or to deflect the argument away from gun reform legislation in the immediate aftermath of a shooting (most prominently in the USA). Unfortunately in recent years this type of response has become common and has begun to inch further towards a foothold in mainstream media and thinking.
The Reality
False flags evidently do exist. The Church of Scientology was found to have co-ordinated various false flag attempts on the reputation of high-profile church critic Paulette Cooper during "Operation Freakout", whilst recently US actor Jussie Smollett was accused of co-ordinating and staging a hate-crime assault against himself in Chicago. In politics, "Operation Northwoods" sought to carry out attacks on the US people in order to stir up fear against the Cuban government, although the proposals were resoundingly rejected by JFK.
The Key Difference
What separates the aforementioned examples (of which there is significant or conclusive proof of deception) from false flag accusers is that the latter go largely without evidence to show that the attack was staged and instead heavily rely on mere irregulaties or discrepancies in evidence such as government reports or witness statements which may create contradictions. In a world of news travelling faster and further than ever it is inevitable that there will be mistakes made in the aftermath.
Unfortunately, such accusations have in recent years become so prominent and above all aggressive it is beyond a case of different thinking and become a second hazard for those who were victim to an attack that many have literally been forced to flee as a result of harrassment (such as Lenny Pozner, father of Sandy Hook victim Noah). After the church shooting in the small community of Sutherland Springs two conspiracy theorists openly harrassed and abused the church's pastor (whose 14 year old daughter was killed in the attack) leading to their arrest. Survivors of the Stoneman Douglas high school massacre have long since the attack faced accusations of deception.
Conceptually Illogical
Many conspiracy theories do not hold up to moderate or even simple research whilst many are simply banal (such as why Adam Lanza made his bed the day of his attack if he was planning to die). Arguably the biggest question that can be asked of such conspiracy theorists is the simple conceptual illogicality of it.
1 – If these people were actors hired to play the part of a grieving relative (Carlee Soto, for example) how much are they being paid for a "role" that will affect their entire being and essentially mean they have to live the rest of their life as a lie and as an alter-ego?
2 – Why would the government (be it of the UK, USA, or wherever relevant) set up an attack and risk the plot being discovered when they could simply sit back and wait for a real attack to occur and capitalise on that?
3 – The Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival, the worst shooting massacre in US history, targetted a concert of around 22,000 people, whilst the Manchester attack targetted a packed concert arena. If the massacres are entirely staged how is it possible to have so many people toe the line and be in on the act?
4 – In the USA, the 2nd Amendment and an armed militia is defended as a way to prevent tyranny and a way of preventing the government from physically abusing its power over civilians. If the government are carrying out attacks against their own people simply to help their agenda, surely by the 2nd Amendment this would be a time to rise up against the government?
5 – The Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting resulted in 26 dead and 2 injured, yet despite claims of it being an intentional government "gun-grab" operation it led to very little by way of legislation and reform. In February 2019 the Aurora factory shooting also led to accusations of a government conspiracy despite a far smaller victim count (5 dead, 6 injured). If the high death toll at Sandy Hook led to little by way of reform why would the government create another attempt with far less victims and therefore far less of a public reaction?
What Can Be Done?
Unfortunately the problem of false flag accusations has gathered momentum over recent years and now appears to be one that cannot simply be ignored in the hope they will simply cease and vanish, however to starve conspiracy theorists from the reward of attention, notoriety and financial gain is of course likely to be a positive move.
Importantly, it would be greatly beneficial should people be careful when reporting on incidents in the immediate aftermath in order to prevent misinformation fuelling theorists, however in the carnage after an attack this is not always possible, nor is it the first thing on a victims mind.
Unfortunately in an age of social media these hysterical and sometimes outright nonsensical narratives can spread far and wide within minutes.