It’s the kind of manipulation that could make a Clinton blush.

In the wake of the Parkland, Florida, school massacre on Feb. 14, the full range of left-wing groups that have been whipping up American politics since Donald J. Trump won the presidency in 2016 have found a new public face for their movement to take away the liberties of American citizens guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

And they’re hoping average American voters never look behind the curtains to see who’s really directing the action.

On television screens and in newspaper columns, the photogenic teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas make for sympathetic spokesmen for the gun-grabbing cause – young, “innocent” survivors of an atrocity demanding action from the adult world to protect students in their school studies.

But according to a report from BuzzFeed, the real power behind the pathos is the unholy association of the leftist groups that have been trying to exploit every gun-related tragedy in recent years to push their progressive agenda. 

The latest propaganda project is dubbed “March for Our Lives.” And while it’s having some logistical problems (this Washington Post report is almost funny), it’s generally being played by the media as a “spontaneous” outburst of student-led activism to promote gun safety through demonstrations planned across the country.

But as BuzzFeed reports, it’s really all the usual suspects getting involved, with the unassailable front of crying children as their public cover.

“In the days after the shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, the teenage survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were impossible to ignore. They blanketed cable news coverage, built a massive following on social media, and began to organize a rally in the country’s capital in support of gun reform,” BuzzFeed reported.

“Since then, major players and organizations — including Everytown, Giffords, Move On, Planned Parenthood, and the Women’s March LA — told BuzzFeed News they are helping the students with logistics, strategy, and planning for next month’s March for Our Lives rally and beyond. Much of the specific resources the groups are providing to the Parkland students remains unclear — as is the full list of supporting organizations — but there are broad outlines.”

Every conservative who follows the news is aware of these organizations. It’s worth remembering, though, that they all traffic in lies as a routine way of doing business. Using the willing children of Parkland – the temptation of instant-celebrity is tough to resist – is just their latest tactic.

Everytown for Gun Safety, for instance, is the Michael Bloomberg-funded group that promotes the lie that school shootings are rampant in the country. (Even the liberal Washington Post has called out the group out for its ludicrous statistics.)