Google searches on gun control and bulletproof gear spike after mass shootings in the US.
After a shooter killed 21 people at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, searches for phrases such as “gun control”, “mass shooting”, and “protective gear” spiked on Google.
Search interest in the term “mass shooting” has remained high after hitting a peak after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012, data from Google Trends show. The deadlier the shooting, the bigger the jump in searches.
While Google searches only offer a snapshot of data, they reveal some of the ways in which Americans process this kind of event in real-time. They also underscore how quickly interest in gun violence fades: The data show shooting-related searches are short-lived even though they are happening more frequently.
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