CBS News Cites Dubious Study That One in Every 15 Americans Have Been At A Mass Shooting
A CBS News headline this week states, "1 out of every 15 American adults have been at a mass shooting."
The headline is accurate. Sort of. Meaning, if you subscribe to the purposely distorted definitions cited in the article.
The article references a 2024 study from the University of Colorado about mass shootings in America, in which the researchers asked 10,000 adults if they have ever been "physically present at the scene of one in [their lifetime]."
But first, the definitions.
The study defines a "mass shooting" as a gun-related crime where "four or more people are shot" in a public space.
The researchers define "physically present" as "in the immediate vicinity of where the shooting occurred at the time it occurred, such that bullets were fired in your direction, you could see the shooter, or you could hear the gunfire."
Put briefly, the study states that of the 10,000 respondents, one in 15, say they have heard gunshots from an incident they think involved more than four people.
Based on that methodology, the study by no means accurately represents mass shootings in America. The sample size is too small. The definitions are too broad (and misleading). And "hearing" gunshots is far different from appearing "at the scene" of a mass shooting.
Moreover, the study doesn't disclose the geography of the respondents. Are they evenly spread between areas of high gun violence, like Chicago, and areas where gun violence is rare? Such details matter.
And yet, CBS News did not address any skepticism in the article. Rather, the author simply parroted an inherently flawed study from a university and presented it as fact.
For one of the oldest and once-respected media outfits in America, that is unacceptable. Mass shootings are a problem. All violent crime is. Gangs and thugs are overrunning pockets of our greatest cities, and local leadership has shown little ambition to stop them.
HIGHLAND PARK, IL - JULY 04: First responders take away victims from the scene of a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. At least six people were killed and 19 injured, according to published reports. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Further, CBS undermines the seriousness of mass shootings by engaging in such blatant political propaganda. Instead of discussing widespread violence in America, the discussion today revolves around the repeated dishonesty of CBS News. See some of the responses here.
There's a trend.
Last month, CBS ran a near-week-long propaganda campaign about censorship laws in Germany and the UK, with the clear implication that the U.S. should look to adopt those laws.
Specifically, "60 Minutes" ran a fawning review of recent efforts by our European allies to conduct police raids against individuals suspected of "insulting" people in person or online. Lead network anchor Margaret Brennan also attempted to recast the Holocaust as a consequence of free speech.
"Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide," Brennan told Secretary of State Marco Rubio of JD Vance's criticism of Germany. "He met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that."
That is simply not true.
The aftermath of World War I and Adolf Hitler convincing the defeated Germans that Jewish people were responsible for the fall of their state caused the Holocaust. Not free speech.
This is not how a serious journalism outlet operates or reports the news. CBS News is a shell of its former self. Its condemnation of free speech and distorted headlines about mass shootings resembles how MSNBC or The Squad would discuss said topics.
And until drastic measures are taken, that's how news consumers should view CBS News: as a partisan arm for the most loathsome wing of the Democratic Party.
Free speech is not a precursor to genocide. Free speech is the bedrock of democracy. Twenty-two million people in America have not witnessed a mass shooting. However, a good number of Americans have heard gunshots because violence continues to run rampant in urban, soft-on-crime cities across the nation.
Be sure to blame thug-sympathizers like Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for that.
There are reasons Congress is the only U.S. institution that Americans trust less than the corporate media. CBS News is one of the reasons.