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Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth | Elizabeth Williamson
6 posts | 8 read | 8 to read
Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, Sandy Hook is Elizabeth Williamsons landmark investigation of the aftermath of a school shooting, the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves, and the truth of their childrens fate against the frenzied distortions of online deniers and conspiracy theorists. On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years later, Sandy Hook has become a foundational story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in society. One of the nations most devastating mass shootings, Sandy Hook was used to create destructive and painful myths. Driven by ideology or profit, or for no sound reason at all, some people insisted it never occurred, or was staged by the federal government as a pretext for seizing Americans firearms. They tormented the victims relatives online, accosted them on the street and at memorial events, accusing them of faking their loved ones murders. Some family members have been stalked and forced into hiding. A gun was fired into the home of one parent. Present at the creation of this terrible crusade was Alex Joness Infowars, a far-right outlet that aired noxious Sandy Hook theories to millions and raised money for the conspiracy theorists quest to prove the shooting didnt happen. Enabled by Facebook, YouTube, and other social media companies failure to curb harmful content, the conspiracists questions grew into suspicion, suspicion grew into demands for more proof, and unanswered demands turned into rage. This pattern of denial and attack would come to characterize some Americans response to almost every major event, from mass shootings to the coronavirus pandemic to the 2020 presidential election, in which President Trumps false claims of a rigged result prompted the January 6, 2021, assault on a bastion of democracy, the U.S. Capitol. The Sandy Hook families, led by the father of the youngest victim, refused to accept this. Sandy Hook is the story of their battle to preserve their loved ones legacies even in the face of threats to their own lives. Through exhaustive reporting, narrative storytelling, and intimate portraits, Sandy Hook is the definitive book on one of the most shocking cultural ruptures of the internet era.
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review
Cinfhen
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Mehso-so

While the author did a ton of research and really dug deep her primary focus was on the deplorable people who call themselves TRUTHERS ( conspiracy theorists) but they are nothing more than troubled, sick individuals who are allowed to spew nonsense - The events at SH were so heinous and then for people to claim SH was a sham is just beyond cruel. My heart broke for the victims families but this book was not the tribute I was expecting. 👇🏽

Cinfhen It was wayyyy too long and the author went on too many side tangents about other hoaxers, conspiracies and debunkers. 1y
Centique Great review Cindy 😘 1y
Cinfhen Thanks @Centique 😘 1y
Megabooks Great review!! 1y
77 likes4 comments
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DogMomIrene
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Pickpick

Tough read. Glad I listened to this one. There are details of the shooting, but it‘s the stories from the families that truly broke my heart. Focusing on how Alex Jones and his BS machine harassed these families for years. Even with the consequences ALex Jones faces, there are still no happy endings for any of these poor people.

Readergrrl Alex Jones is the most vile smear of 💩scraped from the bottom of Life‘s boot. But, worse, even after everything that was said at his recent trial, that abomination of a human still has plenty of followers and fans. Yuck! 2y
Amiable It‘s a horrible, heartbreaking story, but the book is very well written. 2y
DogMomIrene @Readergrrl yes! All of this. And reading about some of these followers was so disgusting! Like remove head from butt people! 2y
DogMomIrene @Amiable Agree. She‘s really thorough too in following some of the misinformation tangents. I wondered how many families she actually spoke to, and how much of her research and interview notes didn‘t make it into the book. 2y
51 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
Minervasbutler
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Pickpick

Tragically for the grieving families, the massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook was one of the first to take place in the brave new world of Facebook and Twitter, where opportunistic grifters like Alex Jones of Infowars seized on the outrageous theory that the whole thing was a hoax. The book becomes an investigation into the broader issues surrounding the social media platforms and their nefarious algorithms.

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MysticFaerie
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Mehso-so

3.5⭐/5⭐ I found this book tough to wade through. I feel like it was repetitive at times and could have been a couple of hundred pages shorter. However, there were some interesting parts to it, don't get me wrong. It just hasn't been my favorite book so far this year.

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Amiable
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Pickpick

An account of how the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting became a foundational story for false conspiracy narratives in the U.S. It details the harassment the grieving families were subjected to after the tragedy— directly fueled by Alex Jones and “Infowars.” It draws a direct line from Sandy Hook to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by those who insisted the 2020 election was “stolen.” Gripping and powerful read.

#Nonfiction2022
Prompt: FREE

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Stacking…. 3y
51 likes3 stack adds1 comment
review
Cortg
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Pickpick

This book covers the Sandy Hook shooting, but it also focuses on the conspiracy theories and highlighting the viral spread of misinformation on the internet, calling out social media platforms and people like Alex Jones of InfoWars. The Newtown image was taken of the flag on Newtown‘s Main St in December in honor or the victims by a family friend. #Booked2022 ~ a book written by a journalist
 @cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Cinfhen Those images of the children still haunt me 💔 3y
Cortg @Cinfhen Yes. I grew up there and the reminders are constant. 😩 3y
Amiable I just finished this book yesterday. SUCH a powerful read. I'm going to be giving it to friends and family for Christmas this year. 3y
Cortg @Amiable Powerful, for sure! 3y
41 likes3 stack adds4 comments