Terrorist broadcast NZ attack
TERROR LIVESTREAM Point-of-view video and suspect’s ‘manifesto’ were accessible online during and after the attack
CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand police warned against sharing footage relating to Friday’s shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 49 people dead, after a video online showed a gunman filming himself firing at worshippers inside a mosque.
Social media platforms including Facebook Inc are facing harsher scrutiny after the shooter appeared to livestream the gruesome murders over the internet.
While platforms including Twitter and Youtube said they moved fast to remove the content, users reported it was still widely available hours after being first uploaded to the alleged shooter’s Facebook account.
The video, which shows a firstperson view of the killings , was readily accessible during and after the attack — as was the suspect’s hate-filled manifesto.
Social-media platforms struggled to scrub the offensive content from their sites, which generate billions of dollars in revenue from advertisers.
“Our hearts are broken over today’s terrible tragedy in New Zealand,” Youtube, which is operated by Google, said in a Twitter posting.
“Police alerted us to a video on Facebook shortly after the livestream commenced and we quickly removed both t he shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the video,” Facebook said on its Twitter account.
“We’re also removing any praise or support for the crime and the shooter or shooters as soon as we’re aware.”
The gunman behind at least one of the shootings tried to make a few things clear in the ‘manifesto’ he left behind: He is a 28-year-old Australian white nationalist who hates immigrants. He was set off by attacks in Europe that were perpetrated by Muslims. He wanted revenge, and he wanted to create fear. And clearly, he wanted attention.
Though he claimed not to covet fame, the gunman — whose name was not immediately released by police — left behind a 74-page document posted on social media under the name Brenton Tarrant in which he said he hoped to survive the attack to better spread his ideas in the media.
Online accounts linked to gun attacks had in recent days circulated white supremacist imagery and extreme right-wing messages celebrating violence against Muslims and minorities on social media and message boards.
On Wednesday, the Twitter handle @brentontarrant tweeted pictures of one of the guns later used in the mosque attacks in Christchurch.
It was covered in white lettering, featuring names of others who had committed race- or religion-based killings. medical team (left) whisks the injured into an ambulance in Christchurch; A survivor (right) laments the attack; A video grab (inset) of the Australian attacker.
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AL-NOOR MOSQUE Christchurch cathedral
Sydenham
Hagley Oval cricket ground LINWOOD MOSQUE
A major flashpoint for the community in recent years was the reproduction in 2006 by the NZ media and TV stations of cartoons considered blasphemous by Muslims. It sparked outrage in the nation's Muslim community.