Dezinformacja i teorie spiskowe na przykładzie strzelaniny w szkole Sandy Hooki teorie spiskowe na przykładzie strzelaniny w szkole Sandy Hook

Katarzyna Amrozy

doi:10.56583/frp.3291

Published : 2026-06-30

No. 24 (2026)

Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Sandy Hook School Shooting

Katarzyna Amrozy

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2215-011X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56583/frp.3291

Abstract

The primary research goal of this article was to identify key disinformation narratives and conspiracy theories that arose around the Sandy Hook school shooting (December 14, 2012), as well as to identify the direct negative consequences of the activities of the „truth-followers” community. Particular attention was paid to the activities of online creator Alex Jones. To achieve this goal, statistics on shootings in the US, including mass killings in educational institutions in the broadest sense, were presented. The next section is a case study of the Sandy Hook tragedy itself. Next, the resulting disinformation and conspiracy theories were analyzed, along with their impact on the victims’ families. This case demonstrated that extremist content and less popular views not only entered public life but also posed a real threat to selected individuals, further deepening their trauma. The two most common theories regarding Sandy Hook assumed that it was a staged attack that resulted in no casualties, and that the US government, seeking to restrict Americans’ right to bear arms, was behind these actions.

Keywords:

mass shootings, active shooter, Sandy Hook, disinformation, conspiracy theories, educational security

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Amrozy , K. (2026). Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Sandy Hook School Shooting. Fides, Ratio Et Patria. Studia Toruńskie, (24), 108–122. https://doi.org/10.56583/frp.3291

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Katarzyna Amrozy

frep@aksim.edu.pl
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2215-011X

Affiliation:

Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu Poland

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Katarzyna Amrozy – doktor w dyscyplinie nauk o polityce i administracji. Wykładowczyni na Wydziale Nauk o Polityce i Bezpieczeństwie na Uniwersytecie Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu. Główne zainteresowania naukowe skupiają się na polskich służb mundurowych, współczesnym terroryzmie, bezpieczeństwie placówek oświatowych oraz wyzwaniach i zagrożeniach dla bezpieczeństwa państwa.