![Security forces respond in active shooter exercise 140204-F-OC707-015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Security_forces_respond_in_active_shooter_exercise_140204-F-OC707-015.jpg)
A crisis actor (aka actor-patient or actor victim) is a trained
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim during
emergency drills to train
first responders such as
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
,
firefighters
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
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.
Disaster training simulations
Actors take on the role of mock victims and simulate specific injuries from a disaster to add life-like realism to an emergency exercise. Theatrical
makeup and cosmetics, plus rubber and latex appliances, are often used to simulate a variety of wounds or medical conditions that realistically portray victim's injuries, a practice known as
medical moulage.
Actors who portray news reporters, relatives of victims, and concerned citizens are also used during drills to train
emergency operations center
An emergency operations center (EOC) is a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level during an emer ...
personnel to cope with a variety of emotionally-charged demands and requests.
Conspiracy theories and defamation
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the term has been used by
conspiracy theorists
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
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*
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* The term has a nega ...
who claim that some
mass shootings
There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...
and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives. Conspiracy theorists' use of the term is thought to have originated in 2012, when a blog post by former professor and professional conspiracy theorist
James Tracy suggested that the government could have hired an
acting agency named Visionbox to help stage the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
. Visionbox offered dramatic training "in criminal and victim behavior" to actors intended to help "bring intense realism to simulated mass casualty incidents in public places".
Tracy also promoted a crisis actor conspiracy theory of the
Boston Marathon bombing.
Conspiracy theorists have falsely claimed such attacks are "
false flag
A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
operations" staged by conspirators, usually government or corporate forces, in order to achieve some goal such as justifying increased
government surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
, 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.
See also
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Roleplay simulation
Roleplay simulation is an experiential learning method in which either amateur or professional roleplayers (also called interactors) improvise with learners as part of a Simulation, simulated scenario. Roleplay is designed primarily to build first ...
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Disaster drills
Medical education
Emergency simulation
Conspiracy theories in the United States
Gun politics in the United States