A Conspiracy Theory About A Stoneman Douglas Student Reaches No. 1 On YouTube

A video peddling a conspiracy theory that Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg is an actor reached No. 1 on YouTube’s trending page Wednesday morning before the company ultimately removed it.

The video itself was real ― a reuploaded version of a 2017 news clip by CBS Los Angeles in which one of Hogg’s friends gets into a verbal altercation with a lifeguard, which Hogg recorded and uploaded at the time. The reuploaded video also used the same title as the CBS affiliate: “Confrontation Between Lifeguard, Bodysurfer Caught On Camera In Redondo Beach Goes Viral.”

The difference came in the new video’s description, where the uploader, who identified himself as “mike m” wrote, “DAVID HOGG THE ACTOR....”

Hogg, 17, has become the focus of a growing number of conspiracy theories in response to his media appearances following an attack at his Parkland, Florida, school that left 17 dead last week. He is among a number of Stoneman Douglas studentscalling for the government to act on gun control.

Some of the theories surrounding the student are a result of Hogg saying his father was an FBI agent; some began because people believe he and others have been coached by gun control advocates; and some are a result of people believing the students are paid “crisis actors.”

It’s the last of the three that the trending YouTube video played into, apparently to the delight of many of the video’s commenters.

Source: Yahoo News