The livestreamed video of Wednesday's deadly shooting in Halle, Germany has potentially been viewed by millions of people after being posted on the Twitch gaming platform. A Twitch spokesperson has said that "Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy against hateful conduct, and any act of violence is taken extremely seriously." After the Christchurch … [Read more...]
Germany shooting livestreamed despite efforts by tech firms
Report Details Stunning Amount Of Free Publicity Media Gives Mass Shooters
An op-ed published in The Los Angeles Times on Sunday documented the staggering amount of free media publicity that news organizations like CNN give mass shooters in the wake of tragedies and how that free publicity is driving the frequency and lethality of the tragedies. The article was authored by James Densley, a sociologist and professor of … [Read more...]
Terrorism is a performance. Don’t watch. And, Facebook, stop making us.
"They want you to watch." James Densley and Jill Peterson write about how the prevalence of violence in the media serves terrorists' interests in spreading destruction. The widespread use of social media platforms paved the way for the mass shooting of 50 worshipers to be livestreamed on Facebook: a performance of violence for the world. Densley … [Read more...]
Why the trend of posting gruesome acts online?
Police have found the suspect who shot and killed an elderly victim and posted footage of the deed on Facebook. He took his own life before he could be taken into custody. His act was yet another example of a new trend — “performance violence” on social media. From the live torture of a mentally disabled teenager in Chicago to the performance … [Read more...]