There are lies, darned lies, statistics, and whatever the heck this is.
Everyone on X is talking about this CBS story, citing a study that one in 15 Americans has been involved in a mass shooting.
That's a pretty alarming statistic, no? This writer knows at far more than 15 people and she can tell you that she knows no one who was involved in a mass shooting.
So where'd they get this number from? Well, let's dive right in.
1 out of every 15 American adults have been at a mass shooting, according to University of Colorado study https://t.co/eeLyIn4cZH
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 1, 2025
Stories from mass shooting survivors and their loved ones, as well as new research, are creating more awareness of gun violence. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that 1 in 15 American adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting. This study defines a mass shooting as an incident when four or more people are shot in a public space.
The research comes as those in the Boulder community gathered four years later to remember the 2021 King Soopers shooting that took the lives of 10 people and impacted countless others.
That impact includes Erika Mahoney, whose father Kevin was killed while grocery shopping that day. Four years later, it's easy to see Mahoney's strong bond with her dad in family albums and frames throughout the house.
You'll be not shocked to learn that the researchers worked from a very broad definition of 'at the scene of' a mass shooting.
The claim that “one in every 15 adults has experienced a mass shooting” is a prime example of misleading gun-control propaganda. While it may seem alarming at first glance, a closer examination of the methodology behind this statistic reveals serious flaws. The criteria used to…
— 🔫UR a Smart A**, Carl🔫 (@Ur_a_Smartass_C) April 1, 2025
The entire post reads (emphasis added):
The claim that “one in every 15 adults has experienced a mass shooting” is a prime example of misleading gun-control propaganda. While it may seem alarming at first glance, a closer examination of the methodology behind this statistic reveals serious flaws. The criteria used to generate this figure include individuals who have merely heard gunfire in their neighborhoods, a vague and overly broad definition that dilutes the true meaning of “experiencing” a mass shooting.
By expanding the scope of what qualifies as a mass shooting experience, this statistic creates a distorted perception of gun violence. Hearing distant gunshots, while unsettling, is not the same as being present during an active shooting event. Lumping these vastly different experiences together misrepresents the actual mass shootings and exaggerates their societal impact. Such statistical manipulation is not just misleading; it undermines genuine discussions on public safety by shifting focus away from more precise data and effective policy solutions.
To address gun violence responsibly, it is essential to rely on accurate, well-defined data. Sensationalized figures may capture attention, but they ultimately hinder productive discourse by fostering fear rather than informed decision-making. A more honest approach to statistics ensures that policy debates remain grounded in reality rather than driven by emotional manipulation.
They don't want to address gun violence responsibly, because that would mean things like putting actual criminals in prison and enforcing gun laws already on the books.
They want to ban guns wholesale.
Best way to do that is to fudge the data to make it seem like an emergency.
On a scale of 1 to your normal propaganda, how false would you say this latest piece from you is?
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 1, 2025
This is their normal propaganda.
1 out of every 12 American adults have had sex with a Playboy centerfold while simultaneously hitting a hole in one at the Master's.
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) April 1, 2025
This is far more believable.
“1 of 15 Americans claims to have been at thing that will get them praise for their assertion”
— Razor (@hale_razor) April 1, 2025
'And help the Left advance its anti-gun agenda.'
Lies lies lies. pic.twitter.com/ZV8JjjT5yS
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) April 1, 2025
All they do is lie.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA at least try to make the propaganda plausible. Cmon.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 1, 2025
They aren't even trying anymore.
Don’t let the suspicious headline stat distract you from this whopper https://t.co/MeJShlC4bx pic.twitter.com/B0tmkeY4gu
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) April 1, 2025
This writer ran the numbers. There are approximately 263 million adults in the U.S.
Two percent is 5.26 million.
That's an insane (and false) number.
The press, and the people feeding it (usually the “Gun Violence Archive”), have been slowly escalating these completely ridiculous claims, and now they’ve arrived . . . here. https://t.co/dpU8RXhwoC
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) April 1, 2025
Imagine what they'll come up with tomorrow.
Four seconds of critical thinking and math tell me it is not at all possible that 17.3 million adults in the U.S. have witnessed a mass shooting. https://t.co/h9vJz8DYeL
— Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) April 1, 2025
Media doesn't engage in critical thinking, and they're hoping their audience doesn't, either.
This is idiotic. There's no way it's true.
— Jay Weber (@JayWeber3) April 1, 2025
CBS has no fact checkers or BS meter, apparently. https://t.co/gnpaz4bgAd
They do.
The agenda, however, is more important.
Gang shootout in your neighborhood? That counts as being present. Neighbor kills family and self in his house, that’s a mass shooting in your neighborhood you were present for. https://t.co/71006duLA7 pic.twitter.com/65sczNkxFh
— memetic_sisyphus (@memeticsisyphus) April 1, 2025
This writer used to work in a bad neighborhood where she'd hear gunshots from time to time.
She would count as the one in 15.
It's ridiculous.
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