This morning, Vox published a lengthy read on the firearm retailers taking over far-right Instagram spaces by using attractive young women to pose with their guns in sponsored posts. As we know, strange communities are rampant on Instagram: off the top of my head, we have InfoWars-branded supplements, luxury pet chicken diapers, vitamin vapes, Instagram witches, and kidfluencers making millions opening toys. Despite this, nothing feels more insidious than the women in American flag bikinis using loopholes in Instagram regulation to sell assault rifles through their social media feeds.
“It just kind of blew up,” Young says of her account. “I think I fell into [the tactical] niche at the right time before it got oversaturated like it has with the fitness industry, or the Fashion Nova-type industry. I was getting reached out to by companies whose guns I’d shot. I think organically it became a bigger part of my life — more than I expected, for sure.”
Young mentions that she’d previously shot the guns of these various companies before being sponsored by them on Instagram, and it turns out she had joined the Army after high school. In 2016, sheBallistic could be a magazine devoted solely to image, to guns that look cool in studio lighting and do X, Y and Z until they actually hit the range. Every photo could potentially be an attractive somebody holding such a wonder weapon.
This messaging seems to echo the NRA line that guns empower women. After the Pulse massacre in Orlando in 2016, the NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch claimed that calls to ban the AR-15 constituted a “war on women”.that because the AR-15 is the most popular rifle with women, “you’re talking about disarming women”.
From the sheer amount of advertisements populating these “gunfluencers” pages, it’s clear that Instagram has allowed these posts to happen. And while the FTC has cracked downon posts that violate advertising standards, there’s little that points to any of these posts infringing on the federal guidelines.
It’s not just the natural evolution of social norms influencing the minds of women “gunfluencers,” it’s a co-ordinated tactic by brands to capitalize on the engagement that “girl power” reaps.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Georgia officer who hit man sitting in deck chair with stun gun in viral video suspendedFootage of the forceful arrest was first published online by Shanna Tory on June 16. It showed a portion of the incident involving her husband Ivan, 32.
Read more »
Brazil Senate blocks Bolsonaro move to ease gun carryingBrazil's Senate on Tuesday overturned a decree signed last month by right-w...
Read more »
Florida officer guilty of negligence for shooting caretakerFlorida police officer found guilty of culpable negligence for shooting at severely autistic man and wounding his caretaker.
Read more »
Harvard rescinds offer to Parkland gun rights activist after racist messages surface onlineKyle Kashuv, whose pro-gun advocacy after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas made him a conservative media star, says the Ivy League school rescinded his acceptance offer after racial slurs were published online.
Read more »
Costco shooting: Debate grows over off-duty LAPD officer’s decision to fire gunAt least one use-of-force expert says if the officer was knocked unconscious during the attack, as his attorney alleges, it would justify the shooting.
Read more »
How Rep. Eric Swalwell would tackle gun violence in AmericaDemocratic presidential hopeful Eric Swalwell on Monday stood outside the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, to unveil a gun-control plan
Read more »