Defense
A video posted by USA Today was criticized by firearm aficionados for its portrayal of the Ruger AR-556, the rifle that was reportedly used by a gunman to kill 26 people at a church in rural Texas.
In the brief video, USA Today identified components of the rifle and attachments that the assault-style rifle can be equipped with, some of them rare and ineffectual, including what appeared to be a belt-driven chainsaw.
Firearm enthusiasts and media personalities were quick to point out the far-fetched modification, which people have used fuel stereotypes against the gun industry, particularly in the wake of mass shootings.
Some people found humor in the improbability of the attachment with some memes.
Following the responses, USA Today replied to its video with a tweet: "To clarify, the video shows both the shooter's modifications, as well as other possible modifications. The shooter did not use a chainsaw bayonet."
Watch the video here:
Sometimes I think the gun rights crowd is too hard on the media, and then I see stuff like this pic.twitter.com/lzyFS9gb1x
- Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) November 8, 2017Go home, USAToday, you're drunkhttps://t.co/Rh5Xbe52fe pic.twitter.com/w3qNzJb7ub
- Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) November 8, 2017.@NRA Can you send me a list of the courses to get certified in Chainsaw Bayonet instruction?
- Sean Davis (@seanmdav) November 8, 2017Me: Wow, the media can't screw up on guns anymore than they already have.@USATODAY: Hold our chainsaw bayonet! pic.twitter.com/4NIf9QVV0M
- Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) November 8, 2017no background check required, can you believe it pic.twitter.com/ZXGoxqYC1c
- Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) November 8, 2017The best ones so far.
cc: @USATODAY #ChainsawBayonet pic.twitter.com/AgwMGQCOqj
- Jerry Dunleavy 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) November 8, 2017A look at the gun used in the Texas church shooting. https://t.co/xdxIf5fR77 pic.twitter.com/sUY1mCCLZC
- USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 8, 2017