Extreme Right-Wing Conspiracy Threats

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An extreme-right genocide conspiracy theory which the accused Christchurch terrorist claimed as motivation has visibly spread in recent years, international researchers have found   Read more.

Far right activity on the internet threatens to spill over into violence in the real world, according to some observers. But are governments and tech companies doing enough to counter the danger?
Two days before the attack, Australian Brenton Tarrant tweeted images of the weapons he was going to use. Half an hour before, he outlined what he was going to do in an online forum. A few minutes before, he emailed a "manifesto" explaining why. And as he began, he switched on a Facebook live stream for people around the world to watch.  Read more.

Gordon Campbell: Has Social Media Handed Hate a Megaphone?

Gordon Campbell on the policing of social media content

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At the height of the Arab Spring less than a decade ago, social media platforms were hailed as bright new tools of liberation in the hands of the oppressed. In the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks though, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Social media outlets are being examined for their role in (a) radicalising the shooter, (b) confirming him in his beliefs by linking him to an online community of like-minded racists and (c) enabling his horrifying actions to be livestreamed and (ultimately) shared with a large global audience. Has social media handed hate a megaphone? 

Systemic Racism Dispossesses, Alienates, and Strips People of their Identity, Values and Belonging

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First a definition.  

Systemic racism affects the very structures of a society. For example, an American study found Blacks were significantly worse off than Whites in Wealth (90% White owned); Employment (Blacks twice as much unemployed);Education (Blacks stood down three times more than Whites for same infractions); Housing (Only 18% Blacks owned their home); Surveillance on roads (Blacks 30% more likely to be pulled over) and  Healthcare (67% White doctors had bias against Black patients).  

Attacking Golriz Ghahraman

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You'd think people tottering along the line close to libel or slander would have been warned by the recent conviction, and later declared self-bankruptcy, of WhaleOil's Cameron Slater and broadcaster Helen duPessis-Allen's conviction  by the Broadcasting Standards Authority for anti-Pasifika comments. Not to mention official and widespread concerns about the inflammatory  misuses of social media during and after the Christchurch tragedy.

But not SB, Cameron's partner on Whaleoil. She (?) has launched a spiteful and unfair attack on Greens MP Golriz Ghuhraman for her supposed denial of free speech.  Under the heading "Golriz uses her free speech to undermine our democracy"

1. SB writes (my emphasis): 

I do not want to silence her nor do I want to punish her for her divisive opinions. I want to amplify her voice so that people know exactly how divisive and wrong she is.

Bainimarama Says Speak Out on Racism and Hatred

"Whenever you encounter someone who says something racist and hateful, whether it is online or in person, say something.

"Do something. Have the courage to call them out, and counter their hatred with reason. Be the voice of love. Be the voice of change. Only then will our world be rid of the evil that inspired the massacre in Christchurch.

 "Staying silent, and not speaking up, would be an injustice to the victims and to all of humanity."

You are safe and loved, PM assures Muslims

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Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama today assured Fiji’s Muslim community that they are safe and they are loved.