Acrisis actor (akaactor-patient oractor victim) is a trainedactor, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim duringemergency drills to trainfirst responders such aspolice,firefighters orEMT 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.[1][2][3][4][5][6][excessive citations]
The term has been taken up and used byconspiracy theorists who claim that some mass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives, such as to advancegun control measures.[7]
Actors take on the role of mock victims and simulate specific injuries from a disaster to add life-like realism to an emergency exercise. Theatricalmakeup 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 asmedical moulage.[8][9][10]
Actors who portray news reporters, relatives of victims, and concerned citizens are also used during drills to trainemergency operations center personnel to cope with a variety of emotionally-charged demands and requests.[11]
In theUnited States, the term has been used byconspiracy theorists who claim that somemass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives such as to advancegun control measures.[7] Conspiracy theorists' use of the term is thought to have originated in 2012, when a blog post by former professor and conspiracy theoristJames Tracy suggested that the government could have hired anacting agency named Visionbox to help stage theSandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 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".[12]
Tracy also promoted a crisis actor conspiracy theory of theBoston Marathon bombing.[12][13] Conspiracy theorists have falsely claimed such attacks are "false flag operations" staged by conspirators, usually government or corporate forces, in order to achieve some goal such as justifying increasedgovernment surveillance, 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 includeAlex Jones and outlets such asTrue Pundit.[14][15][13][16] 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 websiteInfoWars of engaging in a campaign of 'false, cruel, and dangerous assertions'".[17] In November 2021, Jones was found liable by default after failing to provide documents to the court and announced he would appeal the decision.[18] In August 2022, theHeslin v. Jones jury ordered that Jones pay $4.1M in compensatory damages and $45.2M in punitive damages.[19][20][21] 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.[22]
During theGaza genocide, accusations of victims on both sides of the war being "crisis actors" have circulated on social media.[23][24][25]
Media related toDisaster drills at Wikimedia Commons