Conspiracy theories regarding the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting last month have surfaced in recent weeks, but they are being thoroughly debunked by reputable sources, including the anti-hoax site Snopes.com.
Researchers at Snopes have meticulously parsed both a hoax video making the rounds among conspiracy theorists and gun control opponents, as well as allegations made against many of the heroes of the massacre.
"The information presented in that video was a mixture of misinformation, innuendo, and subjective interpretation," says Snopes.
Gene Rosen, a Newtown, Conn. resident who lives near the school and took in six terrified children who had escaped from the shooting, has been accused of being a paid actor.
"Contrary to what is stated in the video, Gene Rosen, a retired psychologist, is not a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG)," says Snopes.
"The claim that he is a SAG member originated with a video showing the results of an Intelius search on a Gene Rosen who is listed as once having worked for the Screen Actors Guild," Snope continues. "However, the Gene Rosen whose information is shown in that video is clearly a different person than the one who sheltered several schoolchildren in Connecticut, as the former is 62 years old and is listed as having lived in California, Texas, and New Jersey (but not Connecticut)." But some misguided people won't leave Rosen alone.
"I don't know what to do," Rosen, a retired psychologist, said in an interview with Salon. "I'm getting hang-up calls, I'm getting some calls, I'm getting e-mails with, not direct threats, but accusations that I'm lying, that I'm a crisis actor, 'How much am I being paid?'"
"The quantity of the material is overwhelming," said Rosen.
That material includes accusations that the shootings were staged as an excuse to institute gun control measures. "With talk of a second shooter, Israeli death squads, and connections to "The Dark Knight Rises," the Sandy Hook shooting has joined the ranks of other tragedies associated with conspiracy theories," writes the Christian Science Monitor.
Proponents are being called "Sandy Hook Truthers," a reference to conspiracy theorist "9/11 Truthers" who believe the U.S. government was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, claims that have no basis in fact.
The video also claims that, Emilie Parker, one of the children killed in the shooting later appeared in a photo with President Obama.
"What the referenced photographs actually picture is one of Emilie's younger sisters wearing a dress similar or identical to one once worn by Emilie," writes Snopes.
Editors at Snopes are not patient with those who continue to support the hoax. "Apparently viewers are expected to believe in an incredible scheme under which the parents of a dead girl who isn't really dead (because she and her parents are actually participants in an elaborate hoax) not only completely forgot that their daughter was supposed to be dead and cluelessly brought her along to meet the President of the United States, they were also foolish enough to post pictures of the event on the Internet for everyone to see," writes Snopes.
The site goes on to debunk over a dozen of the errors in the video and rumors circulating the internet.
Perhaps those seeking to minimize or dismiss the tragedy should read up on their facts first.