New York Attorney General Leticia James in New York, November 19, 2019
Lucas Jackson Reuters
New York Attorney General Leticia James will investigate social media companies, including Amazon Twitch, over a blatantly racial shooting at a Buffalo supermarket that killed 10 people and injured three.
James’ office will also focus on 4chan, 8chan and Discord, but is not limited to these platforms, according to a press release released Wednesday. Investigators are checking online resources that the gunman “used to discuss and expand his intentions and actions to carry out this attack.”
The shooter first conducted a live broadcast on Twitch during the massacre at the Tops grocery store on Saturday. Twenty-two people watched the live broadcast before it was removed, according to The Washington Post.
Investigators and reports found that prior to the shooting, the suspect had posted publications online about theories of white supremacy and plans for violence. Officials said he researched the area’s demographics and went to the store, intending to kill as many black people as possible.
“The fact that a person can publish detailed plans to commit such an act of hatred without consequences and then broadcast it in order to see the world is staggering and incomprehensible,” James said in a statement. “As we continue to mourn and honor the abducted lives, we are taking serious steps to investigate these companies for their role in this attack. Over and over again we have seen the destruction in the real world carried by these dangerous and hated platforms and we are doing our best that it is in our power to shed light on this disturbing behavior and to take steps to ensure that it never happens again. “
According to the release, Governor Katie Hochul handed over the investigation to the AG office.
Discord will cooperate with the investigation, a spokesman said.
Discord said Tuesday: “We now know that the suspect has set up a private server that only works with invitations to serve as a personal diary chat journal. However, about 30 minutes before the attack, a small group of people were invited and joined the server. this our records show that no one else has seen the log chat log on this private server. “
Representatives of Twitch and 4chan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Could not immediately identify a representative of 8chan.
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