“While it sounds like an outrageous claim, one is left to inquire whether the Sandy Hook shooting ever took place — at least in the way law enforcement authorities and the nation’s news media have described,” Tracy blogged.
Tracy wrote a series of posts, from Christmas Eve to last Wednesday, questioning the Newtown, Conn. shootings.
Two weeks after that post, the Sun Sentinel wrote an article about Tracy on Jan. 7. “Tracy asserts that trained ‘crisis actors’ may have been employed by the Obama administration in an effort to shape public opinion in favor of the event’s true purpose: gun control.”
Then on Jan. 8, Lisa Metcalf, Director of Media Relations, told the UP, “James Tracy does not speak for the university. The website on which his post appeared is not affiliated with FAU in any way.”
Just one day later, President Mary Jane Saunders released a statement on behalf of the university.
“I am sure that many of you are aware of the recent comments by a Florida Atlantic University faculty member regarding the tragic events that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on December 14. I want to make it clear that those views and opinions are not shared by Florida Atlantic University, and I am personally saddened by any media stories that have added to the pain felt by the victims’ families.”
Since then, the story has been trending on Twitter and people have been ranting about how he should be fired.
This week, the keywords “FAU Professor” are at 100 — Google’s peak search volume — all throughout the country.
Now, just four days after the Sentinel’s article, the Huffington Post re-ran their story, and over 800 news sources have since published stories about this sensitive topic.
On Jan. 9, the Broward New Times blog wrote, “For someone as ostensibly intelligent as he, he’s apparently quite clouded with confirmation bias, and any discrepancy between reports can only mean — idea explosion! — a mass-media conspiracy. OF COURSE.”
Check out the UP’s issue two weeks from now on who James Tracy really is and the controversy surrounding his posts.
