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Who is David Hogg? Parkland shooting survivor mocks Trump’s sneaker venture with ‘brilliant’ twist
Miffed with Trump over his new sneaker line, Parkland shooting survivor Hogg has bought a new website referencing the ex-US President's new footwear brandx.
Miffed with Donald Trump over launch of his new sneaker line, Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg has bought a new website referencing the ex-US President's new footwear brand and transformed it into an anti-gun violence website, where visitors can suggest legislation to lawmakers.
Trump unveiled the line at "Sneaker Con" in Philadelphia, following a judgement in his New York civil trial where he has been directed to pay $355 million for his years-long inflation of the worth of his assets for financial advantage.
Taking to X on Friday, Hogg, who is the president of Leaders We Deserve (a firm devoted to electing younger candidates) wrote: "I just bought shoptrumpsneakers.com."
“I have redirected you to a page to call your member of Congress. The twist is the person who makes the call is a victim of gun violence whose voice has been re-created with AI to call for gun safety.”
He even mocked Trump claiming that he is “attempting to get young voters by selling sneakers”.
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More about Hogg's website
After launching the website, anti-gun violence activist Hogg said, “Not going to lie, pretty proud of this. Thanks to my tech savvy friends who helped.”
The domain is fairly similar to Trump's "gettrumpsneakers.com," which sells sneakers for $199 to $399 to help the ex-president generate money for his impending court proceedings.
Hogg's website ‘theshotline.org’ reads, "voices lost to gun violence make the call for change."
“Gun silence, thousands of innocent lives every year. Using AI technology, we re-created the voices of those shot and killed by guns so they can call our representatives in hopes of changing our country's gun law.”
The website has been utilised to place 83,812 calls since its introduction. Visitors to the website can select from six distinct artificial voices of victims of gun violence. After entering their zip codes, they can choose which recording they want to send to a lawmaker.
Also Read: Who is Roman Sharf? Russian CEO wins autographed pair of Trump’s golden sneakers after $9k bid
David Hogg's move received mixed reactions from netizens
Reacting to his post, one X user wrote: “Oh my goodness. Had to read it again. Thought you actually bought Trump sneakers.”
“Brilliant. Your generation will save America,” another added.
“Damn, you are brilliant David Hogg!” third user reacted.
However, some netizens slammed Hogg's move, asking him --“So again you are literally profiting from gun violence?”
“Can't wait for the families of those people to sue you for using their child's voice without their permission,” another X user chimed in.
David Hogg: American gun control activist
In February 2018, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opened fire, leaving 17 people dead and 17 injured.
Hogg then became an anti-gun violence activist and co-founder of the student-run group March for Our Lives, which promotes gun control laws, alongside other students.
Hogg was listed among Time magazine's 2018 list of the 100 most influential people. He is the creator of the Leaders We Deserve PAC as well as a co-founder of the pillow manufacturing company Good Pillow.
