72 people Killed Resisting Gun Confiscation in Massachusetts –Truth! (If the date was April 20, 1775)
Summary of eRumor:
This is a very authentic looking article alleging that 72 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured while the National guard confiscated a cache of recently banned assault weapons. Emails of concern have gone viral warning that the U.S. Government is after our guns.
The Truth:
One must read the entire article to understand that this was written about an account called the “Gunpowder Incident” that occurred in 1775 while Americans were struggling to gain independence from England. This according to the Revolutionary War and Beyond website.
Some facts were cleverly omitted from the eRumor to make it appear as though the incident took place in modern time. General Thomas Gage was the Royal Governor of Massachusetts in 1775. He confiscated the gunpowder supply of the American colonials, not “military-style assault weapons.” The only firearms that were in use back then were muzzle loaded black powder flintlocks.
We have highlighted the punch line in red in the example of the eRumor.
Posted 03/11/14