A New York state judge has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against several social media companies, alleging their platforms contributed to the radicalization of a gunman who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in 2022. The court documents reveal that Erie County Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto ruled that the complaint sufficiently pleads viable causes of action to proceed at this stage of the litigation.
The lawsuit claims that social media companies such as Meta, Alphabet, Reddit, and 4chan profit from racist, antisemitic, and violent material displayed on their platforms to maximize user engagement. The plaintiffs argue that these platforms are designed to be addictive to young users and directed the gunman to further platforms or postings that indoctrinated him with 'white replacement theory.'
