Conspiracy theorists are claiming the United Nations is about to send troops to Virginia. That’s obviously not true — but it’s gained steam online. An OG conspiracy theory about the United Nations’ supposed effort to establish a dystopian “New World Order” has gained steam online and is now galvanizing some pro-gun activists who plan to rally at the Virginia Capitol next week. An image dating back to at least 2016 showing U.N. vehicles being transported on flatbed trucks has been making the rounds on the internet again in recent weeks. People are sharing the photo, saying it was taken late last month on a highway in Virginia. They claim its more evidence that the U.N. is in cahoots with the newly-Democrat Virginia legislature, on a covert mission to disarm Americans and overthrow the United States with the end goal of establishing a New World Order run by global elites. The New World Order theory has been around for decades, but it’s most recent iteration is rooted in a fake document that started circulating online seven years ago, purporting to be a notice from the U.N. announcing the creation of a “Civilian Weapons Confiscation Study Group,” which would facilitate gun control laws in order to disarm civilians. It plays into simmering paranoia among right-wing militia types, who believe that a second civil war is on the horizon, and that Democrats are seeking a mass gun-grabbing campaign to render conservatives defenseless.
via vice: This Conspiracy Theory Is Firing Up Pro-Gun Activists Right Before Their Huge Rally