Abstract
The Christchurch Call was an international collaborative pledge between nation states and online service providers “to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.” In this article, we set out to provide an integrated cross-disciplinary analysis of the implications of the limitations of the Christchurch Call. We argue the existence of the Call helped change the conversation on the role played by online communication in hate, harassment and terrorism. However, the Christchurch Call is limited in its ability to counter online hate and extremism. Its current policy framework is most likely to produce messaging that shields social media platforms and other key figures from their existing responsibilities in producing insecurity on and offline. In particular, it does not address the wicked problem of how to understand the social, communal and individual dynamics when the online expression of free speech turns to hate, and in turn, violence—together with the role platforms and states play in permitting and intervening in such digital interactions.
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Notes
Both the manifesto and live streaming of the attacks has been deemed objectionable material by the New Zealand Office of Film and Literature Classification. As such, being subject to New Zealand law we have not accessed either of these two media in the preparation of this article. See https://www.classificationoffice.govt.nz/news/latest-news/christchurch-attacks-press-releases/ last accessed 11th May 2020.
Based on the Great Replacement ideas of anti-immigration writer Frenchman Renaud Camus, https://www.great-replacement.com/ last accessed 11th May 2020.
The initial signatories included Australia, Canada, European Commission, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Amazon, Daily Motion, Facebook and Google.
The term shitposting has evolved over time, and it has a long history. KnowYourMeme summarises it as “a range of user misbehaviours and rhetoric on forums and message boards that are intended to derail a conversation off-topic,” and it places the origins of the term as no later than 2007 (Unknown 2014). Shitposting is associated with low-effort posts and/or obnoxiousness. The daily dot.com’s critiques of Donald Trump supporters, see https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/trump-centipede-btfo-cuckold/ (last accessed 11th May 2020) summarise shitposting as “a troll, a deliberate provocation designed for maximum impact with minimum effort.”
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The authors would like to thank all the people in their lives who work to support them and make it possible to create research such as this. Additionally, the authors would like to acknowledge the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University Wellington Campus for providing opportunities for this cross-disciplinary engagement.
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Hoverd, W.J., Salter, L. & Veale, K. The Christchurch Call: insecurity, democracy and digital media - can it really counter online hate and extremism?. SN Soc Sci 1, 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-020-00008-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-020-00008-2