Google searches for “NRA membership” have reportedly skyrocketed nearly 5,000 percent since the shooting at a Parkland high school that left 17 people dead – a massacre that the gun rights advocacy group had nothing to do with, but which found them the favorite target of a public witch hunt over firearms.
The Daily Mail reports:
Google searches for 'NRA membership' have risen roughly 4,900 per cent since the week before the February 14 shooting, with new members flocking to support the gun owners' rights group.
NRA President Wayne LaPierre announced last May that national membership had reached five million, but the group has not commented on the recent surge and didn't immediately reply to calls from DailyMail.com on Sunday.
They aren't wrong. A quick look at Google trends shows a sharp increase in searches for “NRA membership” in the wake of the Parkland shooting on Valentines Day and, even more starkly, following the public backlash against the 5 million-member Second Amendment group. Here's the latest trend for "NRA membership," according to Google:
Google searches also spiked for “How much does it cost to join the NRA?” and “Second Amendment.” Searches for NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch also rose exponentially following her highly publicized appearance at a CNN town hall on Feb. 21.
Time Magazine reports that other gun rights groups, including the National Association for Gun Rights and other statewide Second Amendment groups, said they’ve seen their ranks explode with new members in the past three weeks.