Christchurch Massacre: Second man charged with sharing livestream of attack
Updated 08:50, 24-Mar-2019
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And now for our ongoing coverage of the terror attacks in New Zealand. A 44-year-old man has become the second person charged with sharing a livestream video of the deadly shootings. New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern has called for a global response to the dangers of social media. Owen Poland tells us more.
The outpouring of emotion from young people in response to the Christchurch massacre has been overwhelming, and experts say the spread of violence and hate on social media is a big part of the problem.
RAEWYN MILLAR CHRISTCHURCH PEDIATRIC NURSE "We work with children in the hospital and we know first-hand the impact that some of this stuff is having, both for things that have happened in Christchurch and the things that children are seeing and reading and being submitted to. I think we need to take action."
New Zealand's Prime Minister says that it's a global issue that needs to be confronted by political leaders worldwide.
JACINDA ARDERN NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER "This is not just an issue for New Zealand, in fact social media platforms have been used to spread violence and material that incites violence. All of us I think need to present a united front."
Security intelligence agencies in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and Britain are looking at ways to combat the spread of hate speech and prosecute the offenders. And while Facebook says that removed one and a half million copies of the massacre video, many believe their response was too slow.
DI BROWNE CHRISTCHURCH PEDIATRIC NURSE "I know children, high school children that have seen the clip, and are very very affected and disturbed and yeh, Facebook should have done something right at the very beginning when they could of. It's almost too late."
OWEN POLAND CHRISTCHURCH "The video of the massacre which was live-streamed on Facebook has now been officially declared as 'objectionable' by New Zealand's Chief Censor and means that anyone who shares it is liable to a fine of up to ten thousand dollars or fourteen years in jail."
The corporate world isn't happy either. New Zealand's Westpac bank has suspended advertising on social media in protest, and major internet providers like Spark and 2 Degrees have called for change. And speculation that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg might visit New Zealand to discuss the issue hasn't impressed the Prime Minister.
JACINDA ARDERN NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER "Yes I know there is interest in, for instance, coming to New Zealand. But I can tell you one thing, I am not interested in a PR exercise."
And one of the organisers of this student tribute believes that the solution is really simple.
"When I look out there, there is a good level of people sharing love and peace which is probably the right message on social media for everyone, not just our young people. Maybe that's what needs to come across a bit more you know, turning the bad to good, yeh."
Owen Poland, CGTN, Christchurch, New Zealand.