New York Health Department Anti-Smoking Ad Lands Up On Gun Sale Site That Tried To Auction George Zimmerman’s Gun That Killed Trayvon Martin

An advertisement from the New York State Department of Health appeared on a website that sells guns, Ku Klux Klan robes and Nazi equipment, NBC New York reported Friday. Following the report, the department pulled down the anti-smoking campaign ad from Gunbroker.com.

“[The state health department] does not associate itself with anything promoting hate or violence. This anti-smoking media campaign was targeted to health care providers, and we certainly did not intentionally place ads on GunBroker.com,” the Department of Health said. “We have paused the campaign, and have launched an immediate investigation as to how this could have happened.”

Advertisements put on ad networks are displayed on several sites, and often, the sponsors of the ad may not know the exact sites on which their promotions appear.

On Thursday, an NBC 4 I-Team investigation found that GunBroker.com said it is the world’s largest gun auction and is also becoming a website which sells KKK robes and Nazi flags.

“These are modern manifestations of hate and having them linked to a gun site is frankly outrageous,” Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Extremism told NBC. “The notion that somebody can access the hate that is sort of underscoring a lot of what we’re seeing — and at the same time be able to buy a gun is just an unnecessary one-stop shop for people.”

Among several items listed on the website are a KKK brass spittoon, a “KKK Gut Hood Neck Knife laser” and a KKK pendant for women which has the auction rate of $680.

The website also made headlines in May for auctioning George Zimmerman’s gun that killed Trayvon Martin, a black teen. However, public outrage prompted the website to take down the gun auction.