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In April 2016, rumors once again began to swirl that the United Nations planned to kill all Americans who refused to willingly surrender their guns. Readers spotted headlines stating as much on Facebook and Twitter, but were unable to learn more about the claim. The cause of the reader confusion was easily identified, because the headline was typically paired with a single sentence and a video, but no further information about the rumor: On 13 April 2016, many social media users shared versions of the rumor posted to myriad blogs with nearly identical headlines: No one quite seemed to be sure what the details of the purportedly imminent, bloody gun grab might be, but news of it was everywhere. Many links led to a February 2016 Patriot Crier article (UN Troops Ordered To Kill All Americans Who Don’t Turn In Guns ...), but that post consisted only of the title, the image, and a video: A virtually identical version was published to GOP The Daily Dose: Most versions of this story use stock images of UN peacekeeping forces to suggest that a bloody disarmament was already underway, but the images were in no way related to any such initiative by the international body. Both examples featured the same embedded video, and people who watched the clip probably didn't click through to YouTube. If they had they done so, they would have seen that the 21-minute long broadcast was uploaded to in July 2012. The video itself was an accompaniment to a 16 July 2012 InfoWars piece, which at no point said or even hinted that the UN had imminent (or long-term) plans to kill all gun-owning Americans: The 2012 item appeared to be a polemic against the UN's Arms Trade Treaty, approved during an April 2012 UN vote. In the years since the rumor began circulating, no Americans were disarmed by UN troops, nor did the United States report attempts by the United Nations to confiscate their guns.
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