It took only a few days after Steven Paddock in Las Vegas opened fire on the crowd at a music festival, and on YouTube already appeared in dozens of movies, where mass murder is called «staging» and «hoax».
In these commercials the proponents of conspiracy theories contend that law enforcement and the government is deliberately deceiving the public. Some call the tragedy «a false flag». It is a term that is commonly used to describe the mass executions, which, according to some, holds the government to increase gun control.
Stephen Melanson whose wife and daughter were injured in Las Vegas, told the Guardian that convinced YouTube to remove such videos.
«When I see my wife struggling for life, having received a gunshot wound to the chest; when I look at my daughter the victim, I think this is pretty convincing proof that everything occurred actually».
Two daughters of Stephen and his wife were that night, country-festival, and one of the daughters managed to send a text message: «Mom hurt».
Videos are quickly becoming viral. So, one of them called «Shooting in Las Vegas… did it happen?» won the day more than 250 thousand views. In the video it is assumed that the shooting was staged, and the victim – actors.
Conspiracy theories about mass shootings in America are not new, but some fear that the popularity of YouTube makes the problem worse.
The representatives of the Guardian website stated that this material and other videos do not violate the standards of YouTube.
Youtube/Screenshot
«This is not a conspiracy. This is not a joke. It happened, and I was there,» says Christine Metz, 45-year-old survivor, who was near the scene when shots rang out. Christina with her cousin almost got trampled by the crowd. The woman says that she is worried about speculation on the subject of shooting in social networks. «People will believe anything they read. That’s horrible.»
Victims of other tragedies also encountered conspiracy theorists.
So, the father of one of the children killed in 2012 in primary school sandy hook, threatened people who believed that the shooting was fake. One man even chased the man and eventually was sentenced to prison.
The family of Stephen Melancon saved a retired firefighter. Wife of Steve, has already had two operations, and the man is going through that propaganda on YouTube may hinder the investigation of the tragedy. «Even false information to the authorities will still have to check. It really slows down the process,» says Steven, adding, «It’s not fair to all the people that passed through such a nightmare.»
