this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/3320637

YouTube and Reddit are sued for allegedly enabling the racist mass shooting in Buffalo that left 10 dead::The complementary lawsuits claim that the massacre in 2022 was made possible by tech giants, a local gun shop, and the gunman’s parents.

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[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 140 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Youtube needs to be punished for their hypocrisy.

Average Joe gets a community guidelines strike for "promoting violence" because he said "Dead" instead of "Unalived", but Penis Prager can advocate for beating your gay kids till they turn straight and YouTube just throws it into everyone's playlists without so much as a "Boys will be boys"

[–] theangryseal@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Who is going to punish them? The leaders who agree with Prager that you can beat the gay out of your kids aren’t gonna get behind that.

A significant portion of our population is hoping for a way to degay their kids.

Man, I’m gonna be all doom and gloom when I go back to bed here in a few.

For me, it seems hopeless. We’ll all be further radicalized by the thing that I thought for most of my life would bring salvation, our access to the Library of Shitexander. A big old library filled with information, Ricky. Information on the workings of electricity. Information on the life and work of Isaac Newton. Information on how to cannibalize your neighbor. Information on how some grifter talks to god and knows exactly what he wants. We can learn useful skills like, how to hate black people and why we should. We can learn how to kickoff Armageddon, and why nuclear weapons are biblical and mutually assured destruction isn’t only a good thing, it’s what we should strive for.

And because we humans create information, we have arguments about who should decide what kind of information is available. Free speech absolutists will say that anything goes and is fair game. Others will say that some speech is dangerous because it influences hatred and bigotry. Each group has representation and has to compromise in order to keep things from escalating, oh but compromise might escalate things too.

Our species was born from chaos looking for a leader who didn’t exist.

I’m just gonna ride the rock until I’m not riding it any more and hope the people of the future don’t destroy each other and can someday figure out that that god ain’t coming back. What else can we do?

You guys have a good morning. I’m heading back to bed.

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[–] AndreTelevise@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Penis Prager

I see you're a person of culture as well... I know this reference.

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[–] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If you look at anything even remotely related to "men's interests" YouTube will begin showing you alt right fascist bull shit.

[–] DarthBueller@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Seriously. I spend a little too much time watching a short that is clearly designed to get me worked up about stereotypical communication difficulties between men & women from a "women, am I rite?" perspective, suddenly I'm getting Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan. I spend a little too much time watching a video about certain Ukrainian war equipment or a Slo Mo Guys video involving guns (wood stock hunting guns, I felt like it was the early 80s all over again before everyone decided they needed assault weapons), suddenly I'm getting served tacticool idiots with kitted-out murder machines. Or I watch a Bart Erhman video (secular New Testament scholar with a large lay audience) and suddenly I get served muslim da'wah/apologetics videos and Catholic catechism ads.

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[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

If you look at anything even remotely related to “men’s interests” YouTube will begin showing you alt right fascist bull shit.

Or if you don't. Youtube shorts recommends Rogan constantly.

[–] primbin@lemmy.one 49 points 1 year ago (5 children)

If youtube is still pushing racist and alt right content on to people, then they can get fucked. Why should we let some recommender system controlled by a private corporation have this much influence American culture and politics??

[–] sabogato@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

I sub to primarily leftist content and their YouTube shorts algorithm insists on recommending the most vile far right content on the planet. It is to the point that I'm convinced YouTube is intentionally trying to shift people far right

[–] pachrist@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I primarily watch woodworking or baking content on Youtube. I feel like the far right content is super prevalent with Shorts. I'll watch something like a quick tool review, and the next video will be someone asking folks on the street if it's ok to be white. What color you are isn't your decision, but what you do every day is, and being some dumbass white kid accosting black tourists in Times Square for shitty reaction content is just gross.

It doesn't matter how often I say I dislike the content, block channels or whatever, Youtube has just decided it's going to check in from time to time and see if I want to let loose my inner Boomer and rage with Rogan.

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[–] T156@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It could be that pushing videos on the other side of the political spectrum gets interactions in the form of people sharing/commenting on it. Even if you disagree, going "Why does YouTube recommend this, this is awful" is still a share.

The algorithm prioritises interactions above all else, and fewer things get people interacting more than being wrong, or them disagreeing vehemently.

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[–] TruTollTroll@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

This is happening on my FB video feed. I watch a funny chick called Charlotte Dobre and she does funny reaction videos. I honestly love her, but all my algorithm shows me for recommendations are these cop brutality videos with comments praising the cops, and right wing crap that praises Abbotts wall and desantis dictatorship. It drives me nuts, and no matter howany pages I block I always get more right wing recommended crap videos

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[–] schmorpel@slrpnk.net 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wonder if this differs from country to country? Or is it different in Europe vs US? I get maths, engineering, music. Nothing too awful. But there is clearly a fully conscious and malicious push to the right going on on all large platforms. It seems Europe is trying to step in and limit that shit from big US platforms before it's too late. Then we have censorship looming on the other side of the picture.

[–] ForgotAboutDre@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm in UK and I often get YouTube shorts made by/for US alt right. These include Ben Shapiro, Tucker, Tate and Jordan Peterson - also people complaining about Bud Light. I always dislike this content and alot of the Tate stuff needs reporting.

I'm left wing and very rarely get left wing content. I don't remember ever being shown any extreme left wing content.

The left wing UK content I get is MPs is Westminster's making speeches, the UK right wing content is manufactured publicity made by the Tories.

Additionally being in Scotland and liking music seems to cause Google to serve you YouTube shorts of Scottish marching bands. Google doesn't seem to realise flute (not traditional bagpipe/kilt bands) in Scotland are mostly hate groups. These orange bands are the group that became the KKK in America. They just aren't recognised as a hate group in the UK because they support monarchy, unionism and are actively courted/involved with both Tories and Labour. Despite playing music encouraging the death of other religious groups and using their marches as intimidation.

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[–] WheeGeetheCat@sh.itjust.works 42 points 1 year ago

Feels good to be reading this somewhere other than reddit

[–] Zengen@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago (17 children)

I mean lookingbat the details for the basis of the suit. They think they can sue someone for teaching a criminal how to do something. They think they can sue the makers of body armor for selling a guy who was not a criminal at the time of purchase, an unregulated commercial product. They think they can sue YouTube for providing motive for whatever he did.

In the law world theres a word for this. Its called a shakedown. This is grieving family's who are vindictive. They dont care who pays, but somebody has to pay in their eyes. Sadly on the merits this case will die in court pretty fast and nobody is gonna see a dollar unless alphabet and spez's lawyers decide they are feeling charitable. Which they won't because settling would cause implications of guilt in the public eye.

[–] TWeaK@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (5 children)

This is grieving family’s who are vindictive.

I'd blame it on the lawyers.

They dont care who pays, but somebody has to pay in their eyes. Sadly on the merits this case will die in court pretty fast and nobody is gonna see a dollar

The family's lawyer is getting paid either way.

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[–] Colorcodedresistor@lemm.ee 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They blamed books for copy cat killers, movies and video games for shootings now they want to blame websites...

now they are trying to sue people because of hindsight? this isn't Minority Report. this is 'lets throw allot of torts and other legal bs on the wall and pray something sticks'

[–] VonCesaw@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago (18 children)

Making legal precedent so that they AVOID showing the offending content instead of PROMOTING the offending content is probably the goal

About 30-40 times a day, Youtube shorts shows me videos actively advocating violence, and I know for sure that Google has enough money and resources currently to prevent these videos being shown, considering it AUTOMATICALLY SUBTITLES THEM

[–] derpgon@programming.dev 24 points 1 year ago

I had to manually report a 100k views short showing someone killing a snail with an air gun. It got removed almost instantly.

Sure, it's a snail, and sure, it's an air gun, but exactly this type of videos are breeding grounds for sickos. And no YouTube, the 1mil sub Minecraft channel that said "kill a creep" is not really violent, neither is some who says "fuck" in the first 30 seconds.

Gosh I hate the platform.

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[–] FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Much as I dislike Reddit, I dont think they are to blame here

[–] Zithero@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Reddit worked very hard to protect all anti-nazi imagery and stop people from posting anti-nazi sentiment. I'd like for someone to acknowledge that they silence anyone who posts anti-nazi shit and who speaks about killing Nazis.

Many are here because of that.

[–] Grayox@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Got banned for posting anti-nazi memes comparing 45 and his supporters to Hitlet and his. It gets scary drawing parallels between the beer hall putsch and jan. 6...

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[–] Nobsi@feddit.de 14 points 1 year ago (9 children)

TD literally was a breeding ground for incel hardcore altright racists and nothing was done about it.

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[–] SitD@feddit.de 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

🤔 so if gun violence is a problem... and they've already banned violence... what if one would ban the other thing - oh wait no it's definitely the goofy gamer machinimas 🤭 stop giggling y'all, this is serious. you don't wanna turn into criminals

[–] PutangInaMo@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (19 children)

Are you suggesting "banning guns"? If so, genuine curiosity, how would you go about doing it?

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[–] EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Stop blaming websites for crazy people doing crazy things.

When the Joker movie came out in 2019, everyone on CNN was saying it was going to cause mass shootings, because of that one lunatic that shot up a movie theater during a screening of "the dark knight"

The idiots who write the material for the talking heads just want to stir things up so they can get eyeballs on the screen.

I bet the outlets that were giving live coverage of the shooting showed ads every 5 minutes...like they did with that one really bad shooting.

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[–] Pratai@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 year ago

They should be suing the Conservative Party. That’s the enabler of gun violence.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This lawsuite is ridiculous. You should hold the shooter liable for there actions. Not reddit, the gun shop or anyone else.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 year ago (6 children)

You can however, blame the policies that helped turn the shooter into what he is.

Like an actual common sense gun law that doesn't sell guns to mentally ill people.

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[–] curiousaur@reddthat.com 8 points 1 year ago (15 children)

This is so so stupid. We should also sue the ISPs then, they enabled the use of YouTube and Reddit. And the phone provider for enabling communications. This is such a dangerous slippery slope to put any blame on the platforms.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think the thing isn't just providing access to the content, but using algorithms to promote how likely it is for deranged people to view more and more content that fuel their motives for hateful acts instead of trying to reduce how often that content is seen, all because they make more money if they watch more content, wether it is harmful or not.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yeah, the difference is in whether or not the company is choosing what to put in front of a viewer's eyes.

For the most part an ISP just shows people what they request. If someone gets bomb making directions from YouTube it would be insane to sue AT&T because AT&T delivered the appropriate packets when someone went to YouTube.

On the other end of the spectrum is something like Fox News. They hire every host, give them timeslots, have the opportunity to vet guests, accept advertising money to run against their content, and so on.

Section 512 of the DMCA treats "online service providers" like YouTube and Reddit as if they're just ISPs, merely hosting content that is generated by users. OTOH, YouTube and Reddit use ML systems to decide what the users are shown. In the case of YouTube, the push to suggest content to users is pretty strong. You could argue they're much closer to the Fox News side of things than to the ISP side these days. There's no human making the decisions on what content should be shown, but does that matter?

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[–] PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee 26 points 1 year ago

If you were head of a psychiatric ward and had an employee you knew was telling patients "Boy, I sure wish someone would kill as many black people as they could", you would absolutely share responsibility when on of them did exactly that.

If you were deliberately pairing that employee with patients who had shown violent behaviour on the basis of "they both seem to like violence", you would absolutely share responsibility for that violence.

This isn't a matter of "there's just so much content, however can we check it all?".

Reddit has hosted multiple extremist and dangerous communities, claiming "we're just the platform!" while handing over the very predictable post histories of mass shooters week after week.

YouTube has built an algorithm and monetisation system that is deliberately designed to lure people down rabbit holes then done nothing to stop it luring people towards domestic terrorism.

It's a lawsuit against companies worth billions. They're not being executed. There are grounds to accuse them of knowingly profiting from the grooming of terrorists and if they want to prove that's not the case, they can do it in court.

[–] firadin@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

Do ISPs actively encourage you to watch extremist content? Do they push that content toward people who are at risk of radicalization to get extra money?

[–] sour@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago

the isps don't encourage people to see content that makes them mad

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