Sandy Hook parents write letter urging Facebook to act against hoax theorists

Parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim are asking Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to take action against conspiracy theorists who have hounded and bullied the grieving family.

Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa’s six-year-old son, Noah, died in the December 2012 Newtown shooting massacre which left 20 children dead and also claimed the lives of six educators.

In an open letter to Zuckerberg, in the Guardian, Pozner and De La Rosa say they and other relatives of mass shooting victims have been harassed and threatened on social media and in person by people who claim the shootings were government hoaxes and the victims were actors. 

Veronique Pozner's (pictured) six-year-old son, Noah, died in the December 2012 Newtown shooting massacre

Leonard Pozner (left with Noah) and Veronique Pozner’s (right) six-year-old son, Noah, died in the December 2012 Newtown shooting massacre

Noah Pozner, 6, was one of the victims of the massacre. He is survived by his parents, Leonard and Veronique

Noah Pozner, 6, was one of the victims of the massacre. He is survived by his parents, Leonard and Veronique

‘Our families are in danger as a direct result of the hundreds of thousands of people who see and believe the lies and hate speech, which you have decided should be protected,’ they wrote. 

‘We are unable to properly grieve for our baby or move on with our lives because you, arguably the most powerful man on the planet, have deemed that the attacks on us are immaterial, that providing assistance in removing threats is too cumbersome, and that our lives are less important than providing a safe haven for hate.’

Last year, a Florida woman who threatened Pozner was sentenced to five months in prison. 

Authorities said Lucy Richards made voicemail and email threats to Pozner in January 2016 after viewing internet sites claiming the shooting was a hoax aimed at curtailing Americans’ Second Amendment gun ownership rights. 

Richards pleaded guilty to interstate transmission of a threat to injure.

In an open letter to Zuckerberg, in the Guardian , Pozner and De La Rosa say they and other relatives of mass shooting victims have been harassed and threatened on social media

In an open letter to Facebook founder Zuckerberg (left) Pozner and De La Rosa say they and other relatives of mass shooting victims have been harassed and threatened on social media

Other parents of Sandy Hook victims and people affected by other mass shootings, including the one that killed 17 people at a Florida high school, have made similar requests of Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies.

‘While terms you use, like ‘fake news’ or ‘fringe conspiracy groups’, sound relatively innocuous, let me provide you with some insight into the effects of allowing your platform to continue to be used as an instrument to disseminate hate,’ they wrote.

‘We have endured online, telephone, and in-person harassment, abuse, and death threats. In fact, one of the abusers was sentenced to jail for credible death threats that she admitted in court she had uttered because she believed in online content created by these ‘fringe groups’. 

They said that several of the families had been forced to relocate ‘numerous times’ because of the number of groups on Facebook that ‘”hunt” us, posting our home address and videos of our house online.”

‘We are currently living in hiding. We are far from alone in our experiences, as many other families who have lost loved ones in mass shootings and other tragedies have reported the same continuing torment.’ 

In this December 14, 2012, file photo, officials stand outside of Sandy Hook Elementary School. A 2014 report by the Office of Connecticut Child Advocate concluded that gunman Adam Lanza's actions were not directly caused by his psychiatric problems, but it noted that his mother rejected psychologists' recommendations that her son should be medicated and undergo treatment for anxiety and other conditions. Five years after the massacre, efforts to improve mental health care for young people have had mixed results

In this December 14, 2012, file photo, officials stand outside of Sandy Hook Elementary School. A 2014 report by the Office of Connecticut Child Advocate concluded that gunman Adam Lanza’s actions were not directly caused by his psychiatric problems, but it noted that his mother rejected psychologists’ recommendations that her son should be medicated and undergo treatment for anxiety and other conditions. Five years after the massacre, efforts to improve mental health care for young people have had mixed results

Connecticut State Police officers accompany a class of students, and two adults, out of Sandy Hook Elementary School during the shooting in 2012

Connecticut State Police officers accompany a class of students, and two adults, out of Sandy Hook Elementary School during the shooting in 2012

Pictured is Adam Lanza, who entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, and shot dead 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself

Pictured is Adam Lanza, who entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, and shot dead 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself

They called on Zuckerberg to treat victims of mass shootings and other tragedies as  a protected group – and therefore covered by Facebook’s policy. 

Zuckerberg raised eyebrows in an interview with Recode last week when he said he finds denial of the Holocaust ‘deeply offensive’ but doesn’t believe such content should be banned from Facebook.

‘What we will do,’ he said, ‘is we’ll say, ‘Okay, you have your page, and if you’re not trying to organize harm against someone, or attacking someone, then you can put up that content on your page, even if people might disagree with it or find it offensive.”

He also said in the interview that the claim the Sandy Hook shooting didn’t happen is false.

Twenty-seven wooden angel figures are seen placed in a wooded area beside a road near the Sandy Hook Elementary School for the victims of the shooting in 2012

Twenty-seven wooden angel figures are seen placed in a wooded area beside a road near the Sandy Hook Elementary School for the victims of the shooting in 2012

‘I also think that going to someone who is a victim of Sandy Hook and telling them, ‘Hey, no, you’re a liar’ – that is harassment, and we actually will take that down,’ Zuckerberg said.

In a statement Wednesday in response to the letter by Pozner and De La Rosa, a Facebook spokeswoman said the company recognizes that victims of mass shootings and other tragedies are ‘vulnerable to offensive and incendiary comments.’

‘Although we do see people come together on Facebook in very positive ways around tragedies, some of what we see is truly abhorrent and represents the worst of the internet and humanity,’ the statement said. 

‘We don’t allow people to mock, harass or bully the victims of tragedies. This includes the types of claims in the letter that victims are crisis actors. We also don’t allow people to celebrate, justify or defend the tragedy in any way.’

Facebook has been hit with several scandals this year, the biggest of which was Cambridge Analytica data scandal which revealed that millions of users’ information had been accessed.

It also faced continuing questions about its policing of content on the platform and handling of fake news.

 



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk