1 like 0 dislike
in General Factchecking by
Smith and wesson using a proud boy shirt in an ad is pretty on the nose. The fact a literal rightwing terror organization is being used to sell guns is… it’s telling and a serious problem. Fascism has seeped into everything.

3 Answers

1 like 0 dislike
by Apprentice (1.3k points)
selected by
 
Best answer

It seems that Smith and Wesson is actually not affiliating itself with proud boys. The shirt in their most recent ad has the letters PB on the front, however that stands for Perception Brand, a clothing line that sells tactical apparel. This is an unfortunate oversight by Smith and Wesson's advertising team, though it is explicitly stated in their twitter post that the shirt is fron Perception Brand. Vice source Twitter source

False
by Novice (600 points)
0 0
I appreciate you sharing the direct Twitter post that the company put out to dispute the idea that the PB could only mean Proud Boys, which does make sense, but it's presumptive. It's best to fact check straight from the subject the claim is about in a case like this so they can clear their name, which you did! I think it was a good strategy to check their socials since most PR these days is done via social media.
1 like 0 dislike
by Novice (720 points)
Smith and Wesson aren't affiliated with the proud boys. The shirt stands for something different that doesn't have anything to do with gun sales. Smith and Wessons advertising team clearly made a mistake when analyzing the t shirt.

https://reason.com/volokh/2020/11/09/lawsuit-over-schools-restriction-on-pro-gun-shirts-can-go-forward/
False
1 like 0 dislike
by Journeyman (2.5k points)

This claim is misleading

Reuters has fact checked this and determined the shirt in the ad is not affiliated with the proud boys.

The shirt used in the advertisement was from a tactical apparel company called Perception Brand Apparel, also with the initials PB. The shirt can be found listed on their website here.

The Reuters fact check also points out that the yellow PB initials have been used in proud boys attire before however in different fonts. Brass knuckles like the one on the shirt have also been used in proud boys imagery. Users online alleged that this design was a dog whistle towards the proud boys.

The proud boys have been designated as a terror entity by countries such as Canada and New Zealand. The United States only designates foreign groups, not domest, as terror organizations. (Source: NPR)

by Genius (47.5k points)
0 0
Nice work finding the Reuters fact-check and I like that you included a definition for the Proud Boys for those who may not have heard of them. Great job.

Community Rules


Be respectful.

There is bound to be disagreement on a site about misinformation. Assume best intentions on everyone's part.

If you are new to factchecking, take some time to learn about it. "How to Factcheck" has some resources for getting started. Even if you disagree with these materials, they'll help you understand the language of this community better.

News Detective is for uncovering misinformation and rumors. This is not a general interest question-answer site for things someone could Google.

Posting

The title is the "main claim" that you're trying to factcheck.

Example:
Factcheck This: Birds don't exist

If possible, LINK TO to the place you saw the claim.

Answering

LINK TO YOUR EVIDENCE or otherwise explain the source ("I called this person, I found it in this book, etc.")

But don't just drop a link. Give an explanation, copy and paste the relevant information, etc.

News Detective is not responsible for anything anyone posts on the platform.
...