QUESTION:
Do red porch lights mean a home is gun-free?
ANSWER:
No, this is false.
SOURCES:
Google Reverse Image Search, immediatesafety.org
PROCESS:
The gun control debate isn't going away anytime soon, and people on both sides of the issue aren't wasting any time trying to slam each other in some way.
Everyone's big on opinions, but sadly, as our Verify team can tell you, often short on facts.
There’s a meme going around right now that claims homeowners are using red porch lights in solidarity with gun reform and declaring their houses are a gun-free-zone. Legit?
Here's the WUSA9 Verify team found out.
Using Google's reverse Image search, our researchers traced this meme back to info from an article from May 2016.
It's on a site called Immediate Safety, and the author quotes the "Department of Protecting Everyone which doesn't exist and also a Walmart Manager, who also doesn't exist.
And oh yeah, the author? "Dr. Swindler."
Just to be sure it's made up garbage that you shouldn't share online, we double checked.
And yes, the site specializes in satire.
The FAQ's page even says it's all just a joke, so DON'T take it seriously.
So even though people might continue to share it like it's real, WUSA9's Verify researchers confirmed this red-light-fad is false.
Our Verify team advises you to always go past the headline to check out the article's sources and author before you click "share."
