A new008 Archives nearly 800-page reporton the 2019 Christchurch shooting claims that mainstream social media platforms had a much larger role in radicalizing the shooter than fringe websites.
The two platforms that had the biggest impact on the shooter’s mindset: YouTube and Facebook.
Following the attack that left 51 people dead at two Christchurch mosques in March of last year, the New Zealand government launchedan independent inquiry into the spree killing. The results of that report paint a picture of how the shooter, white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, came to commit such a heinous act.
The report specifically found that YouTube played a major role in radicalizing the man.
“What particularly stood out was the statement that the terrorist made that he was ‘not a frequent commentator on extreme right-wing sites and YouTube was a significant source of information and inspiration’,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern while discussing the report. “This is a point I plan to make directly to the leadership of YouTube.”
Tarrant was a fan of the once-prominent far-right YouTuber Stefan Molyneux, as well as other figures on the right such as white nationalists Richard Spencer and Lauren Southern. According to the report, Tarrant even donated money to right-wing organizations and Freedomain Radio, which was created by Molyneux. YouTube bannedboth Molyneux and Spencer from the platform this past summer.
“We’ve made significant progress in our work to combat hate speech on YouTube since the tragic attack at Christchurch,” said a YouTube spokesperson in an email. “In 2019 we strengthened our hate speech policywhich has resulted in the termination of channels mentioned in the report, and led to a 5x spike in the number of hate videos removedfrom YouTube.”
YouTube also said it made changes to its recommendation algorithm in order to limit the spread of similar video content that doesn’t quite cross the line and violate the platform’s policies.
“We will continue our work together with the Prime Minister, as well as governments, industry partners, and communities around the world to combat the spread of violent extremism online,” the spokesperson continued.
Facebook also played a role in the radicalization of the Christchurch shooter, according to the report.
Tarrant frequently posted Islamophobic rhetoric in far-right Facebook Groupssuch as The Lads Society Season Two, United Patriots Front, and True Blue Crew. He also spoke about inspiration he pulled from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampfon the social network.
In one particularly interesting exchange, pointed out by Vice, Tarrant’s mother calls him a “neo-Nazi” in a Facebook message. Tarrant was bothered by this because he worried Facebook’s moderation systems would detect the word and take action against his account.
Mashable reached out to Facebook for comment and will update this piece when we hear back.
Many social media platforms grappledwith issues stemming from the Christchurch shooting from the moment it happened. The shooter livestreamed his horrific act and many bad actors continued to upload videosfrom the stream even as YouTube, Facebook, and others attemptedto take them down.
Even though the shooter regularly used platforms like YouTube and Facebook, fringe websites very much played a role in his radicalization too. Tarrant frequented forums like 4chan and 8chan and donated money to far-right websites like The Daily Stormerand The Right Stuff.
Topics Social Media YouTube
Best Samsung Frame deal: Free Music Frame with Frame Pro art TV purchase
Streams and sales of The Cranberries are surging on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon
Leonardo DiCaprio to star in new Quentin Tarantino movie about Charles Manson
Ryan Reynolds confirms 'Deadpool 2' is coming sooner than we thought
Waymo data shows humans are terrible drivers compared to AI
Mark Zuckerberg wants Current Facebook to go back to being Old Facebook
Booster from Chinese rocket crashes to Earth near a small town
Google to construct new undersea cables to connect U.S., Asia, Europe
Best robot vacuum deal from the Amazon Big Spring Sale
COSMOS with Neil deGrasse Tyson will return for another season
Stop Preordering Video Games
TV channel Spike is soon to be no longer, so its Twitter went wild
12 of the best British short stories you've never read
All 15 seasons of 'ER' are coming to Hulu
The best day to book your flight, according to Google
HBO boss insists 'Game of Thrones' final season 'isn't a delay'
Streams and sales of The Cranberries are surging on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon
The Google Arts and Culture app has a race problem
Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best portable speaker deal
Google to construct new undersea cables to connect U.S., Asia, Europe
Harry Styles correctly states that teen girls are the absolute best'Walking Dead' just promoted three cast members, here's what it means for Season 8Facebook fires directly at Snapchat with augmented reality platform, 'Camera Effects'A new study uncovered this terrifying fact about the way we driveYou can now walk into literal walls in virtual realityEven LeBron wants to be at Coachella right nowMarvel plans to keep making movies until you're dead and your children are oldThis marathon VR bingeYour friendly neighborhood SpiderIf you haven't seen 'Broadchurch' Season 3, you're missing outUnited just made it a little harder for you to get bumped off a flightUAE billionaire is funding India's most expensive film of all timeiPhone 8 could be delayed because of this cool featureHere's Robert Downey Jr. dressed as the Easter Bunny, gazing into the middle distanceYou can now walk into literal walls in virtual realityThis marathon VR bingeLady Gaga to film 'Star is Born' movie scenes at CoachellaLuke's shocking line in 'The Last Jedi' trailer may mean something elseThe 6 biggest takeaways from Star Wars CelebrationSamsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ review: huge screen, fantastic phone Mexico vs Poland livestream: How to watch World Cup 2022 Group C live 'Dead to Me' deeply moving series finale connects 5 things to the pilot USA vs Wales livestream: How to watch FIFA World Cup 2022 Group B Trump supporter stabs giant Trump baby blimp On vacation? Please post as many pics as you want. Trump won't be fact Netflix's 'Run for the Money' is straight out of a Stephen King book Sasha Velour is making the world a prouder place, one lip England vs Iran livestream: Watch FIFA World Cup 2022 Group B People haven't gotten over a man rudely storming Kamala Harris's stage Apple shows off new Memoji beauty and accessory options at WWDC 2019 Instagram lets you see what it thinks you like, and the results are bizarre 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for November 17 Why affairs are on the rise in the cost of living crisis The 10 most unique Airbnb and Vrbo listings 3 ways to modernize 'Pokémon' after 'Scarlet & Violet' Google launches new search features for finding food near you Prince Louis stole the show at Queen Elizabeth's birthday celebration How internet ghost stories take on a life of their own Stephen King live
1.8893s , 10133.4296875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【2008 Archives】,Steady Information Network