YOUTUBE IN DOCK ON GANG MURDERS
Horrific videos glorifying antics of killers are luring children into life of crime
YOUTUBE was accused yesterday of ‘aiding’ gangs to recruit impressionable youngsters with popular videos showing members brandishing guns and knives while boasting about violent attacks.
Horrifying online films, some viewed as many as 1.7 million times, show gangsters, many with their faces covered, rapping and bragging about criminal activities.
As London’s 2018 murder total passed 50, a former gang member, who now helps people escape the groups’ grip, said children as young as ten were being sucked in after watching the videos on YouTube, which is owned by Google.
In one of the hundreds of films available, a man says: ‘I splash [stab] consistent blades, blades and they come back dripping [with blood]. We bought brand new weapons. Step into the zone, we’ll annihilate you.’
Another shows a boy holding a large kitchen knife among a group of teenagers, with one youth rapping: ‘My n****** bang all day, we shank [stab] and spray [shoot]... I got sticks [knives] in the forest, I don’t listen to Boris [Johnson, then Mayor of London].’
Tory MP Tim Loughton, who sits on the home affairs select committee, said the videos allowed gangs to gain ‘ cult status’ and accused YouTube of ‘ aiding and abetting’ recruitment of new members.
Describing the films as ‘gruesome’, he added: ‘These could be taken as recruitment videos for gangs getting teenagers involved in very dangerous and violent behaviour. They glorify gang violence at a time when we are seeing record numbers of murders in London – YouTube have no place in aiding and abetting a recruitment tool.’ Senior believe crime Scotland bosses Yard are officers actively funding YouTube videos to promote gang violence.
One firearms officer described it as a ‘shop front’ to draw in youngsters, adding: ‘There is no doubt that organised crime is behind these videos. Who do you think are paying for them? It’s advertising. It’s effective recruitment.’
Children who search for a gang name on YouTube can find dozens of videos within seconds.
adverts video Some advert of alongside the graphic by luxury the films content. French contain A designer Yves Saint Laurent played before the start of one gang- affiliated video. Banner adverts by furniture company Feather and Black and mattress retailer Eve were also featured. The presence of adverts means YouTube stands to make money from people viewing the videos. One knife crime campaigner last night accused the web giants of having ‘blood on their hands’. Jen Lock, founder of Lives Instead of Knives Ealing, said: ‘They need to stop polluting our young people’s minds, supporting this evil to make money.’ Sheldon Thomas, founder of London-based Gangsline, spent ten years life around. in a gang He now before goes turning into primary his schools to teach children about the dangers of gangs. Mr Thomas said he had been trying for a decade to raise awareness about how YouTube was used to ‘groom kids’. He added: ‘If you are growing up in a house where you’ve got no father figure, your mother has suffered from domestic violence... your mind is not stable. You think rather than listen to your mum or dad, you’ll go into your room and watch YouTube. They will message them [gang members] and get a message back... They say: “Come and hang out with us”.’ The head of Operation Trident, set up by the Met Police to fight gang violence, said the force had been monitoring online videos since 2009. Detective Superintendent Mike West said: ‘The gangs try to outrival each other with the filming and content – what looks like a music video can actually contain explicit language with gangs threatening each other. He added: ‘We only ask for videos to be removed which we believe raise the risk of violence. We have been working with Google to take down some of the videos, which they have done after approaches from us, but as with all serious violence, there is always more work to be done.’ A spokesman for YouTube said: ‘We do not allow videos that promote violence on YouTube. We work closely with organisations like the Metropolitan Police who understand and provide relevant context for videos, and we act quickly to review and remove them when they violate our policies. ‘In the UK, we have developed policies specifically to help tackle knife and gang crime. ‘We are also committed to working constructively with the Home Office on this issue, as we are doing with other organisations.’