We’ve covered before how memes can be more toxic (and wrong) than you think and how they can be super racist. But it’s worth noting that they can also be super misleading while sounding (or even being) factual.
![Wedding bands that were removed from Holocaust victims prior to being executed, 1945. Each ring represents a destroyed family. Never forget, Nazis tore down statues. Banned free speech. Blamed economic hardships on one group of people. Instituted gun control. Sound Familiar[sic]?](https://ideatrash.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pulse-image-1593369313687.jpg)
Take this one for instance. (please).
It is absolutely correct about the wedding bands being removed from Holocaust victims. And then it conflates actions and motivations and provides a bunch of hopelessly misleading data points.
Let’s start with the easiest one: "Nazis and gun control". This has been thoroughly debunked; read this Salon article for more. The key bit?
The 1938 law signed by Hitler that LaPierre mentions in his book basically does the opposite of what he says it did. “The 1938 revisions completely deregulated the acquisition and transfer of rifles and shotguns, as well as ammunition,” Harcourt wrote. Meanwhile, many more categories of people, including Nazi party members, were exempted from gun ownership regulations altogether, while the legal age of purchase was lowered from 20 to 18, and permit lengths were extended from one year to three years.https://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/stop_talking_about_hitler/
Okay, so what about the rest?