Most Canadian teens have seen graphic violence online, and algorithms — not searches — are to blame

Real images of violent content used to remain in the internet's dark corners. Now they circulate widely on mainstream social media. (Unsplash)

When right-wing commentator and social media influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on a university campus in September 2025, graphic videos of the assassination quickly spread online. Many of those images also landed in front of teenagers worldwide.

In early 2026, our team at DIY: Digital Safety, a Western University-based research project that builds resources to help navigate online risks, collaborated with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. We surveyed more than 1,000 teens aged 13 to 18 across Canada about their exposure to real-world violence and gore online. Half of them had seen footage of Kirk’s death.