Parkland Survivor Says Dad Turned To QAnon, Believes School Shooting Is A Hoax

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A survivor said her father bought into conspiracy theories that the students were "paid pawns."

One of the survivors of the 2018 Parkland shooting says that his father has been buying into the conspiracy theories that he, along with his classmates, are "paid pawns" who faked the school shooting that claimed 17 lives, per VICE News. The 18-year-old graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, who goes by Bill in the article, is part of the final class of survivors but he explained that his father's recent discovery of QAnon has led him down a dark path.

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"It started a couple months into the pandemic with the whole anti-lockdown protests,” Bill told VICE. “His feelings were so strong it turned into facts for him. So if he didn't like having to wear masks it wouldn't matter what doctors or scientists said. Anything that contradicted his feelings was wrong. So he turned to the internet to find like-minded people which led him to QAnon.”

Bill explained that his dad saw the video of Georgia Rep. Marjory Taylor Greene, famed for pushing QAnon conspiracies, harassing a Parkland survivor which further fueled Bill's father into thinking it's a hoax.

"From there it snowballed into what he is today, believing that if the government is able to overthrow an election, then everything else is probably a lie too," Bill added. 

In a Reddit post shared last week, Bill detailed the type of abuse he has to endure from his father over these conspiracies. "He'll say stuff like this straight to my face whenever he's drinking: ‘You're a real piece of work to be able to sit here and act like nothing ever happened if it wasn't a hoax. Shame on you for being part of it and putting your family through it too," he wrote in the post.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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