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A crisis actor (aka actor-patient or actor victim) is a trained actor, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim during safety drill to train First responder such as police, Firefighter or EMS personnel. Crisis actors are used to create high-fidelity simulations of disasters in order to allow first responders to practice their skills and help emergency services to prepare and train in realistic scenarios as part of full-scale disaster exercises. The term has also been used by conspiracy theorists who claim that some mass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives such as to advance gun control measures.
Actors who portray news reporters, relatives of victims, and concerned citizens are also used during drills to train emergency operations center personnel to cope with a variety of emotionally-charged demands and requests.
Tracy also promoted a crisis actor conspiracy theory of the Boston Marathon bombing. Conspiracy theorists have falsely claimed such attacks are "false flag operations" staged by conspirators, usually government or corporate forces, in order to achieve some goal such as justifying increased government surveillance, disarmament of the population, or military action against blamed nations or groups. Crisis actors are claimed in this context to play the part of bystanders or witnesses, emergency response personnel, and (with the aid of stage makeup) wounded victims of the attack.
Advocates of the conspiracy theory include Alex Jones and outlets such as True Pundit. In April 2018, the parents of two children killed in the Sandy Hook shooting launched a lawsuit against Jones for defamation "accusing him and his website InfoWars of engaging in a campaign of 'false, cruel, and dangerous assertions'". In November 2021, Jones was found liable by default after failing to provide documents to the court and announced he would appeal the decision. In August 2022, the Heslin v. Jones jury ordered that Jones pay $4.1M in compensatory damages and $45.2M in punitive damages. During the trial, Jones admitted that the Sandy Hook shooting was "100% real", and he agreed with his own attorney that it was "absolutely irresponsible" to push falsehoods about the shooting and its victims.
During the Gaza genocide, accusations of victims on both sides of the war being "crisis actors" have circulated on social media.
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