Mainstream Media's Use of Student Shooting Survivors Is Starting to Raise a Lot of Questions
Last week’s Florida school shooting, which left 17 people dead, rocked the nation and left many questioning how such an event could occur. And now, more questions are being raised, but this time about the mainstream media’s heavy use of students who survived the shooting.
As noted by Grabien editor Tom Elliott, the mainstream media’s decision to interview children who have been subjected to “indescribable emotional trauma” is questionable at best.
Elliott noted that major media outlets such as CNN have “trotted these kids out, put cameras in their faces, and urged them to make political statements about the attack.”
As can be seen below, CNN host Alisyn Camerota interviewed two Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who survived the attack — Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg.
During the interview, Camerota directed the conversation toward politics, asking Gonzalez for her thoughts on the National Rifle Association.
“So what do you say to the NRA?” Camerota asked.
Gonzalez replied: “Disband, dismantle.”
“I don’t have to tell you guys that they give millions of dollars to politicians,” Camerota told the students. “They have a very powerful tool. How do you expect politicians who need money to keep running for office to say no to the NRA?”
Gonzalez then stated that “we keep telling them if they accept this blood money they are against the children. They are against the people who are dying. And that is — there’s no other way to put it at this point: You’re either funding the killers or you’re standing with the children.”
Camerota asked Hogg for his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s weekend tweet regarding the FBI’s handling of warnings given to them about the shooter in the months prior to the attack.
“I think it’s disgusting personally,” Hogg replied, before revealing that his father was a retired FBI agent.
CNN then promoted the exchange on Twitter.
On Friday, Camerota asked Hogg to address Trump and other “lawmakers.”
“My message to lawmakers and Congress is, please take action,” Hogg responded. “Ideas are great, ideas are wonderful and they help you get re-elected and everything. But what’s more important is actual action and pertinent action that results in saving thousands of children’s lives — please take action.”
CNN wasn’t the only outlet who seemed to use the shooting survivors to push a political agenda.
On ABC’s “This Week,” host Martha Raddatz tried to push Cameron Kasky, another Parkland student, to criticize Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio, both Republicans.
“Cameron, you had some very harsh words this week for Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Rick Scott here in Florida. You said they have blood on their hands,” Raddatz said.
She then asked Cameron’s friend, “What would you say to those who you want to join you in this march for your lives in Washington to convince them that something really will change, that there will be no more mass shootings?”
Moreover, Elliott noted that over at MSNBC, host Alex Witt asked students to sound off on Trump’s FBI tweets.
“I want to get your response to the president as you know the FBI missed an opportunity potentially to Nikolas Cruz, the reason is they have spending so much time of Russian collusion and the Trump campaign, he’s putting these two entities together and the FBI. What do you think of this?” Witt asked.
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