WSJ: People Selling 'Stickers' On Facebook Are Actually Selling Guns

WSJ: People Selling ‘Stickers’ On Facebook Are Actually Selling Guns

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The sleuths on the Wall Street Journal invoice this an an “exclusive” report. As in the event that they’d one way or the other unearthed the story of the century. Facebook can’t cease the sign and by no means will.

Now, a brand new tactic entails posts purporting to promote stickers, alongside pictures of gun makers’ logos. Sellers usually ask an showing interest occasion to ship a non-public message by way of the service for extra data. Several sellers contacted by the Journal responded to say they had been truly promoting weapons, not stickers, and supplied particulars and pricing.

The Journal, utilizing a easy seek for “gun sticker” and “stickers,” over two days earlier this month surfaced greater than 40 posts that presupposed to be promoting stickers, subsequent to pictures of gun makers’ logos, or a selected caliber ammunition. After that search, Facebook’s advice algorithm supplied a Journal reporter a full page of greater than 50 related postings throughout a number of U.S. states.

A separate, one-day evaluation performed final week by Storyful recognized greater than a dozen listings for stickers of well-liked gun kind logos, together with Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. and Remington Outdoor Co., throughout 10 U.S. cities. In Lexington, Ky., and San Angelo, Texas, as an illustration, the search discovered two listings in every metropolis for stickers associated with gun manufacturers. Storyful is a social-media intelligence company owned by News Corp, which additionally owns the Journal. While some gun producers have profile pages on Facebook, there isn’t a indication they promote firearms on the positioning.

One vendor in Amory, Miss., posted the emblem for Glock Ges.m.b.H., an Austrian maker of semiautomatic handguns, describing his merchandise as a “0.40 sticker,” for $450. He additionally posted “PM for info,” a shorthand means of asking showing interest events to ship a non-public message by way of the Facebook Marketplace platform for extra data. When contacted by the Journal, the vendor stated he was truly promoting a Glock .40-caliber pistol.

– Parmy Olson in Gun Sellers Use New Tactic to Deal on Facebook Marketplace

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