Buffalo Massacre
A little over a year ago, a tragic day was brought upon the community in Buffalo, New York. On May 14, 2022, a gruesome massacre occurred on this tragic day. Ten lives were taken, and in total thirteen were injured. This all happened at the local supermarket located in Buffalo, New York.
The horrible Buffalo Massacre was planned and carried out by eighteen-year-old Payton Gendron. Payton drove two hundred miles from his home in Conklin, New York, to Buffalo with the intention “of killing as many blacks as possible.” This quote comes from the killer’s writings he shared on social platforms. Additionally, he used these platforms to plan and advertise his racist opinions and his plan to kill. Furthermore, the whole attack had already been in development months before. The eighteen-year-old used platforms such as Discord, Twitch, Reddit, 4chan, and 8kun.
On these platforms, he would then discuss with other white supremacists and support one another in their racist ideology. Also, he later used these platforms to post content about his attack and he even when on to livestream it on the app Twitch. Not to mention he posted a link to the livestream of the Buffalo Massacre and a manifesto, as well as a personal diary. On these, he wrote a justification for his actions and he shared his hope to influence other racially motivated attacks.
Lawsuit
A lawsuit was filed against the social media companies used by the shooter to promote his killings and harmful ideology. This lawsuit was filed by the victim’s families. Furthermore, the companies in this lawsuit are Vintage Firearms, where the shooter obtained his weapons.
Also, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Google, and Amazon are named in the suit. Most companies were unresponsive. However, one YouTube spokesperson put out a response with their condolences.
Written by Meredith Garcia
Sources
BBC News: Buffalo shooting victims sue social media platforms and gun distributors By Sam Cabral
NY Gov: Buffalo Shooting Online Platform Investigative Report
Featured and Top image courtesy of Acadian Fire Photography’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
