Americans are facing another tragedy – this time in Buffalo – as 11 Black and two white victims were shot in a “racially motivated hate crime” suspected to have been perpetrated by a young man who spent much of his life online, where he appears to have been radicalised. He used the same digital playbook as the Christchurch terrorist: livestream footage of his attack and a “manifesto” that quoted the same “great replacement” and other white supremacist theories. He mentions the Christchurch terrorist by name in his manifesto.
In our most recent research report looking at anti-Muslim hate, we found that the big social media companies were collectively failing to act on 89% of posts that advocated the great replacement theory – despite pledges made in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack and subsequent, ideologically driven violent extremism attacks at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; in Halle, Germany; and in El Paso. These are not “lone wolf” attacks. The individuals are connected through online communities on social media, where they share ideas, tactics and content.
