Online extremist content
WELLINGTON - New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced more funding and support on Monday to target violent extremist content online, just months after an alleged white supremacist livestreamed a massacre at two mosques in Christchurch.
The attack on March 15 that killed 51 Muslim worshippers was livestreamed on Facebook, and the video was shared on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook-owned apps Whatsapp and Instagram.
Ms Ardern said the government was investing $NZ17 million ($F23.5m) over four years to boost New Zealand’s ability to find, stop and stamp out terrorist and violent extremist content online quickly.
The investment would be used to double the investigative, forensic, intelligence and prevention work of the Department of Internal Affairs, she announced at a press conference. A new team of 17 people will be dedicated to tackling such content, the government in a statement.