(CNN) David Hogg has become a strong voice among survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The attention has given him a powerful platform -- but it has also made him the subject of smear campaigns and demonstrably false conspiracy theories.

Either he has been "coached" by his father, a former FBI agent; or he is a "pawn" for anti-gun campaigners; or, the most far-fetched, he is not a victim but a "crisis actor," paid to travel to disaster sites to argue against stricter gun laws.

"I'm not a crisis actor," Hogg told CNN's Anderson Cooper on "AC360" Tuesday. "I'm someone who had to witness this and live through this and I continue to be having to do that."

"I'm not acting on anybody's behalf," the 17-year-old added.

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