YouTube’s content rules apparently don’t apply to corporate media darlings.
Case in point: Wired (Publisher: Condé Nast) recently published a video walking viewers through the exact process of building a copycat version of the untraceable 9mm “ghost gun” allegedly used in the UnitedHealth CEO shooting by Luigi Mangione.
“So, armed with a shopping list and a credit card, we ordered everything we needed. A 3D printer, plastic filaments, and household products like epoxy were all just a few clicks away on sites like Lowe’s or Amazon. And the more specialized components were available on sites that sell gun parts, just not the guns themselves,” Wired’s Andy Greenberg explained to viewers in the video.
Greenberg continued, “A few days later, every ingredient I needed to make Mangione’s gun arrived in the mail for the grand total of $1,144.67 plus shipping. And that includes the price of the 3D printer. This is like Christmas Day. This looks like a slide, very much like an obvious gun part. Kind of crazy that you can just order this.”
The video then spent five minutes showing viewers the printing and assembly processes. He outsourced the assembly of the pistol to YouTube Print Shoot Repeat.
After assembling the 3D-printed pistol, Greenberg took it to a shooting range and fired several magazines through it; the weapon performed as expected.
Meanwhile, YouTube explicitly prohibits content that provides instructions on manufacturing firearms, including ghost guns.
The policy even states:
“Don’t post content on YouTube if the purpose is to do one or more of the following: Provide instructions on manufacturing any of the following: Firearms.”
Meanwhile, independent firearm enthusiasts regularly get their videos pulled, age-restricted, or demonetized for far less. The double standard is obvious: if you’re mainstream media, you get a pass — but if you’re just a gun hobbyist or DIY engineer, the censorship hammer comes down hard.
Why is Wired effectively providing a how-to guide on building a copycat weapon, especially when it’s being served up to Luigi Mangione’s fanbase of unhinged Marxist leftists?