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Parkland survivor says dad has turned to QAanon conspiracies, thinks massacre was a hoax

July 26, 2021 | 8:19pm | Updated July 26, 2021 | 8:39pm

A teen who claims to be a survivor of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida is being traumatized all over again — by his father, a QAnon believer who says the massacre was just a hoax.

The student, who recently graduated, said his dad’s conspiracy theories, which surfaced after he became a devotee of QAnon, have now caused a rift in the family, he told The Post Monday.

“He was always an avid Trump supporter and after the pandemic, into QAnon,” the man, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote in an email.

“So, he was already predisposed to falling into the ‘fake news’ crowd and trusting people like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green. So, it’s what started the whole thing.”

Green (R-GA) has been criticized by fellow Republicans for promoting QAnon theories. Earlier this year, Greene called Parkland survivor-turned-activist David Hogg an “idiot.”

“People have told me it might be a coping mechanism to be able to deal with what happened, but I don’t know,” the man added.

Nikolas Cruz who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Nikolas Cruz is accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a confrontation with Parkland survivor David Hogg.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a confrontation with Parkland survivor David Hogg.
Marjorie Taylor Greene via YouTube

The Feb. 14, 2018 shooting left 14 students and three staff members dead. Accused gunman Nikolas Cruz is awaiting trial on multiple first-degree murder charges.

Conspiracy theorists have claimed that the shooting, and other school massacres, were false flag operations fabricated by left-wing zealots.

The unnamed student first revealed his own story on Reddit and it was later the subject of an article on vice.com — which claimed to verify his identity.

His first-person post appeared on the QAnonCasualties subreddit last week.

The post is titled, “I survived the Stoneman Douglas school shooting and my dad is suddenly convinced I’m a liar and part of a false-flag operation.

A memorial for the people who died in the Parkland school shooting  in front of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
A memorial for the people who died in the Parkland school shooting in front of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA

“Holy f–k this is weird,” he wrote. “I know it’s far from the majority, but anyone accusing me of using my trauma to spin a story, f–k you.”

“This was literally just a hastily written rant I thought would reach at most a couple hundred upvotes,” he said. “I never planned this blowing up.”