Sandy Hook by Elizabeth Williamson

Sandy Hook

by Elizabeth Williamson

View on Goodreads
Crime & JusticeSociety & Culture

For the families of the twenty first-graders and six educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012, the shooting was followed by years of harassment from people who said it was staged. Williamson draws on more than 350 interviews to follow those parents and to trace how Alex Jones, Infowars and social media spread the lie.

Core ideas
  • The believers: Alongside the families' stories, the book profiles some of the conspiracy theorists themselves and looks at the psychology of believing a massacre was faked.
  • Going to court: The families answered with legal action, including defamation suits, against the people spreading the hoax claims.
  • A through line: Sandy Hook denial connects to what came later, from Pizzagate and QAnon to the run-up to January 6, 2021.
Published2022
Pages496
ISBN9781524746575
ReadJun 2024

Connected to 3 other books

See the connection map
American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter American Gun Cameron McWhirter Read Oct 2023 The AR-15 was designed to make soldiers more mobile and safer. Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen Fantasyland Kurt Andersen Read Sep 2022 Gold-seekers and religious zealots, both betting on extraordinary outcomes, made the colonies in Kurt Andersen's telling, and his… The Death of Truth: How Social Media and the Internet Gave Snake Oil Salesmen and Demagogues the Weapons They Needed to Destroy Trust and Polarize the World – and What We Can Do About It by Steven Brill The Death of Truth Steven Brill Read Dec 2024 Follow the ad money behind a disinformation site and you can find a mainstream brand that never meant to fund it.