CNN is chief among these disinformation peddlers in the corporate press. On August 21, 2022, CNN featured the Gun Violence Archive in a story. GVA is a non-profit based in Washington D.C. that uses data on gun violence to promote civilian disarmament.
As Lee Williams of the Second Amendment Foundation noted, CNN turned to GVA’s data in a special segment. As Williams explained how the civilian disarmament organization is notorious for providing “sensational, misleading, and inaccurate mass-shooting data.”
CNN ran a story covering the recent New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, INC. v. Bruen Supreme Court decision. CNN discussed the judges who dissented in this case, who cited figures from (GVA). GVA falsely asserted that 277 mass shootings have taken place since the start of 2022. In other words, there has been one mass shooting taking place per day using their numbers.
“The dissent was just the latest example of the growing influence of the Gun Violence Archive, a tiny nonprofit that has for less than a decade attempted to log every single incident of gun violence in the US in real-time,” CNN stated. “The organization has been cited by the Supreme Court, policymakers and media outlets like CNN primarily for its ongoing tally of mass shootings, which it defines as any incident in which four people are shot, excluding the shooter.”
Mark Bryant, GVA’s executive director, said to CNN he is noticing the phrase “according to Gun Violence Archive” being used more in news stories. Bryant believes that the use of the GVA’s data and talking points is confirmation that his group is gaining more credibility.
The most egregious aspect of the GVA’s work is how it defines a mass shooting.
“When most Americans hear the term ‘mass shooting,’ they picture a crazed gunman stalking the halls of a school or a shopping mall, coldly and randomly executing innocent young victims,” CNN wrote. “What does not come to mind are rival drug crews shooting it out in Chicago or Detroit, or a madman murdering his entire family.”
Bryant threw shade at the Second Amendment Foundation for how it criticizes GVA’s definition of a mass shooting.
“My answer on that is, the same number of people are shot whether you call it a ‘mass shooting’ or whether you call it a ‘shooting that four people or more were shot,’” Bryant said to CNN. “But they just don’t like when the (term) ‘mass shooting’ is used, some don’t like that.”
One thing that Williams noted is the gap in how GVA defines a mass shooting and how the FBI classifies it.
By using GVA’s definition, Williams highlighted that 417 mass shootings occurred in 2019. Under the FBI’s narrower definition, there were 30 mass shootings.
Pert he report titled: “Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2020,” the FBI provides the following definition for active shooting scenarios:
Shootings in public places
Shootings occurring at more than one location
Shootings where the shooter’s actions were not the result of another criminal act
Shootings resulting in a mass killing
Shootings indicating apparent spontaneity by the shooter
Shootings where the shooter appeared to methodically search for potential victims
Shootings that appeared focused on injury to people, not buildings or objects
Under the FBI’s parameters, shootings were excluded from the mass shooting category if they were the product of:
Self-defense
Gang violence
Drug violence
Contained residential or domestic disputes
Controlled barricade/hostage situations
Crossfire as a byproduct of another ongoing criminal act
An action that appeared not to have put other people in peril
Gang violence
Drug violence
Contained residential or domestic disputes
Controlled barricade/hostage situations
Crossfire as a byproduct of another ongoing criminal act
An action that appeared not to have put other people in peril
In contrast, GVA does not exclude anything. So drug or gang related shootings featured in these states. We must remember that these are the two principal causes of gun violence in the country.
We must be careful about using statistics. They’re often manipulated by members of the ruling class to justify their tyrannical agenda. Independent journalism and research is needed to make sure that the truth gets out.
Moreover, the case for the Second Amendment is ultimately a moral one, not one that has to be justified through dry statistical analysis. A man that can’t defend himself or his family nor be able to stand up to the state when it becomes tyrannical is a slave not a free man.
When groups like the GVA are manipulating data to justify their agenda, you know they’ve completely lost the argument.
José Niño is a freelance writer and political analyst based in Austin, Texas. Contact him via Facebook or Twitter. Get his premium newsletter on political strategy here. Subscribe to his Substack here.
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