On Friday, a man released a 73-page racist manifesto and proceeded to kill 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, video of which he subsequently posted to various social media platforms.
The attack was designed to go viral, with plenty of references used to quickly gain attention online. Since then, various platforms have taken steps to limit the spread of the alleged shooter’s videos, and raised questions about the role that social media plays in spreading hate messages.
Follow along for all of the updates in the aftermath of the attack.
Mar 30, 2019, 4:33 PM UTCAndrew Liptak
Facebook is ‘exploring restrictions’ for live video after Christchurch attack
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg outlined three steps that the company is taking
Mar 27, 2019, 5:28 PM UTCMakena Kelly
Facebook moves to ban white nationalist and separatist content on its platform
It’s a dramatic shift in company policy
Mar 21, 2019, 10:00 AM UTCCasey Newton
Tech platforms should fight Islamophobia the way they fought ISIS
Facebook and YouTube have helped quash terrorism before, and they can do it again
Mar 19, 2019, 10:04 AM UTCJon Porter
Facebook says the Christchurch attack live stream was viewed by fewer than 200 people
Footage was re-uploaded 1.5 million times in the 24 hours after the attack
Mar 18, 2019, 8:01 PM UTCMakena Kelly
New Zealand ISPs are blocking sites that do not remove Christchurch shooting video
4chan, 8chan, and LiveLeak have been blocked
Mar 18, 2019, 2:18 PM UTCColin Lecher
YouTube took down an ‘unprecedented volume’ of videos after New Zealand shooting
The platform disabled functions to stop the videos
Mar 17, 2019, 1:46 PM UTCAndrew Liptak
Facebook says that it removed 1.5 million videos of the New Zealand mass shooting
1.2 million were ‘blocked at upload’
Mar 16, 2019, 9:23 PM UTCAndrew Liptak
Valve takes down user tributes memorializing the New Zealand shooting suspect
More than 100 profiles utilized the name or picture of the alleged shooter
Mar 16, 2019, 4:27 AM UTCSean Hollister
Sky New Zealand yanks Sky Australia after Christchurch footage sparks outrage
“We stand in support of our fellow New Zealanders”
Mar 15, 2019, 11:43 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Questions about policing online hate are much bigger than Facebook and YouTube
Small sites pose complicated questions about stopping hate
Mar 15, 2019, 7:39 PM UTCCameron Faulkner
How to turn off autoplay videos on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and more
Turn off this annoying and potentially harmful feature
Mar 15, 2019, 7:16 PM UTCBijan Stephen
Reddit bans r/watchpeopledie in the wake of the New Zealand mosque massacres
The subreddit violated site policy on ‘glorifying violence’
Mar 15, 2019, 7:02 PM UTCJulia Alexander
Why can’t YouTube automatically catch re-uploads of disturbing footage?
It’s not just a matter of flagging and deleting
Mar 15, 2019, 8:20 AM UTCElizabeth Lopatto
The mass shooting in New Zealand was designed to spread on social media
Killing in the age of SEO
