Fox & Friends presented emerging smart gun technology as “fascinating,” reliable, and not vulnerable to hacking in a segment that highlighted a shotgun that can only be fired by an authorized user who wears a special ring.

The National Rifle Association claims that it does not oppose the development of smart gun technology, but in practice it often raises unfounded concerns that the technology is unreliable or could be disabled by hackers. The NRA has also promoted the conspiracy theory that the government could use the technology to take control of private firearms to implement a de facto ban on gun ownership.

A November 24 segment on Fox & Friends featured an interview with Jonathan Mossberg, the inventor of a “Magnetic Tag-enabled shotgun,” that debunked these myths.

According to Mossberg's website, authorized users for the firearm wear a ring and “when the ring comes in close range to the normal ring-finger placement on the firearm's stock, the iGun compares a unique code from the ring to the gun to see if there is a match. If the code matches, the trigger unlocks” and the gun can be fired.

Proponents of smart guns promote the technology as a way to prevent unauthorized users -- such as children or someone trying to access a law enforcement officer's gun -- from accessing a weapon.

A segment on the November 24 broadcast of Fox & Friends opened by comparing smart gun technology with something that might be seen in a James Bond movie. Fox News “CyberGuy” Kurt Knutsson participated in a demonstration of the technology with Mossberg and concluded, “I tested it out, I can tell you right now that guns are about to become a lot like an iPhone where you could just simply use your fingerprint to open a gun, or even in this case you use a ring.”

During the demonstration Knutsson attempted to fire Mossberg's shotgun, but was unable to do so. He then passed the firearm to Mossberg, who was able to fire the gun instantly because he was wearing a ring for an authorized user.

After the demonstration, Mossberg explained that people who oppose the technology are “people that jump to conclusions, that don't do homework, and don't do research are against it. You may not want to buy one. That's fine. But don't be against it.”

Mossberg's explanation of the unfounded reasons people oppose smart gun technology sounds like a summation of the attacks on the technology from the NRA's media arm, NRA News. (Interestingly, Mossberg's family operates O.F. Mossberg & Sons, a sponsor of the NRA News web series Noir.)

In contrast to the successful demonstration of the technology on Fox News, the NRA's radio show, Cam & Company has spread false information about the failure rate of the technology, featured content suggesting smart guns are a “dumb idea” and that “gun owners won't trust an electronic firearm to save the day,” and hosted guests to claim the technology doesn't work. The NRA's online magazine America's 1st Freedom has endlessly criticized smart gun technology, recently describing it as “floundering.”

These attacks are baseless -- market-ready smart guns have a similar mechanical failure rate compared to firearms that do not have the technology.

The Fox & Friends segment also addressed claims that the technology could be hacked by criminals or by the government for nefarious purposes. Knutsson explained, “The fact is, this particular technology right here, 15 million combinations to that ring is what it would take to hack through it.”

“The people who hate technology, smart guns, they think that big bad government can shut my guns down. Mine does not work on WiFi, mine does not work on any signal other than this far apart,” added Mossberg, demonstrating the distance between his thumb and index finger.

NRA News has promoted the type of conspiratorial claims described by Mossberg. In April 2014, conservative media distorted comments made by then-Attorney General Eric Holder about smart gun technology similar to Mossberg's -- it would use a bracelet rather than a ring -- to claim that the government wanted to track gun owners using the technology. Conservative media falsely claimed Holder promoted “tracking” bracelets, when instead the purpose of the bracelet Holder discussed was to send a signal to the firearm authorizing its use.

Despite being a complete distortion of what Holder said, NRA News hosted multiple guests to push the conspiracy theory, with one guest claiming, “For some reason they feel like they need to keep an eye on where your gun is and where my gun is, and Eric Holder can do pretty much whatever he wants with government funds.”

The NRA's publication American Rifleman also promoted the conspiracy theory that “a criminal, a hacker or even a government agency could turn your gun on or off anytime they wanted” if smart gun technology was adopted. The author of the article appeared on NRA News to claim the technology could be hijacked by “politicians, let's be frank, who would just as soon ban all handguns.”

During the Fox & Friends segment, Mossberg and Kilmeade both expressed opposition to legislation that would mandate the adoption of the technology, which is in line with the NRA's position, but nonetheless Kilmeade concluded the segment by describing Mossberg's invention as “fascinating.”

Fox & Friends' treatment of smart gun technology stands in sharp contrast to previous coverage of the technology on Fox & Friends; the show was one of many conservative media outlets to push the conspiracy theory about Holder and “gun tracking bracelets.”