A crisis actor (aka actor-patient or actor victim) is a trained actor, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim during emergency drills to train first responders such as police, firefighters or EMS personnel. Crisis actors are used to create high-fidelity simulations of disasters in order to allow first responders to practice their skills and help emergency services to prepare and train in realistic scenarios as part of full-scale disaster exercises. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The term has also been used by conspiracy theorists who claim that some mass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives. [7]
Actors take on the role of mock victims and simulate specific injuries from a disaster to add life-like realism to an emergency exercise. Theatrical makeup and cosmetics, plus rubber and latex appliances, are often used to simulate a variety of wounds or medical conditions that realistically portray victim's injuries, a practice known as medical moulage. [8] [9] [10]
Actors who portray news reporters, relatives of victims, and concerned citizens are also used during drills to train emergency operations center personnel to cope with a variety of emotionally-charged demands and requests. [11]
In the United States, the term has been used by conspiracy theorists who claim that some mass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives. [7] Conspiracy theorists' use of the term is thought to have originated in 2012, when a blog post by former professor and conspiracy theorist James Tracy suggested that the government could have hired an acting agency named Visionbox to help stage the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Visionbox offered dramatic training "in criminal and victim behavior" to actors intended to help "bring intense realism to simulated mass casualty incidents in public places". [12]
Tracy also promoted a crisis actor conspiracy theory of the Boston Marathon bombing. [12] [13] Conspiracy theorists have falsely claimed such attacks are "false flag operations" staged by conspirators, usually government or corporate forces, in order to achieve some goal such as justifying increased government surveillance, disarmament of the population, or military action against blamed nations or groups. Crisis actors are claimed in this context to play the part of bystanders or witnesses, emergency response personnel, and (with the aid of stage makeup) wounded victims of the attack.
Advocates of the conspiracy theory include Alex Jones and outlets such as True Pundit . [14] [15] [13] [16] In April 2018, the parents of two children killed in the Sandy Hook shooting launched a lawsuit against Jones for defamation "accusing him and his website InfoWars of engaging in a campaign of 'false, cruel, and dangerous assertions'". [17] In November 2021, Jones was found liable by default after failing to provide documents to the court and announced he would appeal the decision. [18] In August 2022, the Heslin v. Jones jury ordered that Jones pay $4.1M in compensatory damages and $45.2M in punitive damages. [19] [20] [21] During the trial, Jones admitted that the Sandy Hook shooting was "100% real", and he agreed with his own attorney that it was "absolutely irresponsible" to push falsehoods about the shooting and its victims. [22]
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, accusations of victims on both sides of the war being "crisis actors" have circulated on social media. [23] [24] [25]
Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right, alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcasts across the United States via syndicated and internet radio. Jones's website, InfoWars, promotes conspiracy theories and fake news, as do his other websites, NewsWars and PrisonPlanet. Jones has provided a platform and support for white nationalists, giving Unite the Right rally attendee and white supremacist Nick Fuentes a platform on his website, Banned.Video, as well as giving an "entry point" to their ideology. In 2023, leaked texts from Jones's phone revealed that he created the website National File.
James Henry Fetzer is an American professor emeritus of the philosophy of science at the University of Minnesota Duluth, known for promoting conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. Fetzer has worked on assessing and clarifying the forms and foundations of scientific explanation, probability in science, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of cognitive science, especially artificial intelligence and computer science.
InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC.
Steve R. Pieczenik is a Cuban-American psychiatrist, author, publisher, and conspiracy theorist. In 1976, he was made Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance and James Baker .He was later a consultant of the United States Department of State.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and the other six were adult staff members. Earlier that day, before driving to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the school, Lanza died by suicide, shooting himself in the head.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.
The Genesis Communications Network, often referred to as GCN, is a radio network created in 1998, owned by Ted Anderson. The network currently produces 45 shows, distributed on more than 780 radio stations nationwide. The network is known for talk programming; Alex Jones is its most prominent syndicated personality.
The FEMA camps conspiracy theory is a belief, particularly within the American Patriot movement, that the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is planning to imprison US citizens in concentration camps, following the imposition of martial law in the United States after a major disaster or crisis. In some versions of the theory, only suspected dissidents will be imprisoned. In more extreme versions, large numbers of US citizens will be imprisoned for the purposes of extermination as a New World Order is established. The theory has existed since the late 1970s, but its circulation has increased with the advent of the internet and social media platforms.
James Frederick Tracy is an American conspiracy theorist and former professor who has espoused the view that some American mass shootings did not occur and are hoaxes.
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police.
David Miles Hogg is an American gun control activist. He rose to prominence during the 2018 United States gun violence protests as a student survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, helping lead several high-profile protests, marches, and boycotts, including the boycott of The Ingraham Angle. He has also been a target and scapegoat of several conspiracy theories.
Veterans Today is an American antisemitic and conspiracy theory website. It describes itself as a "military veterans and foreign affairs journal", while multiple sources describe it as a pro-Kremlin propaganda outlet.
Leonard Pozner is the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, Noah Pozner. He is the founder of the HONR Network, which supports the victims of mass casualty violence as well as the targets of online hate speech and harassment.
HONR Network is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2014 by Lenny Pozner. The organization began as an advocate for the survivors and the victims of mass casualty, and highly publicized, violent incidents, who were revictimized online by conspiracy theorists. More recently, HONR's mission has expanded to assist all victims of online hate and harassment and it has been involved in bringing about significant policy changes at Facebook, WordPress YouTube and other major online platforms.
Conspiracy theories in United States politics are beliefs that a major political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving to harm a rival group or undermine society in general.
Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth is a nonfiction book written by journalist Elizabeth Williamson and published in 2022 by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Knowledge Fight is a podcast dedicated to analyzing and critiquing episodes of Alex Jones' Infowars shows. The podcast was created in January 2017. It is hosted by the former stand-up comedians Dan Friesen and Jordan Holmes, both of whom live in Chicago, Illinois. As of December 31, 2023, a total of 883 episodes of the podcast have been released. In each episode, Friesen plays clips of noteworthy moments from one of Jones' shows, which are followed by Holmes' reactions.
True Pundit is a far-right fake news website known for publishing conspiracy theories. According to The Atlantic, True Pundit had "a well-known modus operandi, perfected during the 2016 U.S. election: running baseless stories and then asking leading questions". In 2021 True Pundit stopped publishing new content.
Helping schools and first responders create realistic drills, full-scale exercises, high-fidelity simulations, and interactive 3D films.