The gunmen who attacked two mosques in March last year in Christchurch, New Zealand, frequently visited YouTube as "a significant source of information and inspiration" rather than extreme right-wing websites, according to an inquiry report submitted by a Royal Commission that was appointed by the Kiwi government. Although the attacker, Brenton Tarrant, had visited extremist chat rooms and forums on other websites like Reddit, 4chan and 8chan, YouTube played a far more influential role, the report says. The terror attack, which led to the deaths of 51 people and 40 others severely injuring, was livestreamed by Tarrant on Facebook and subsequently, copies of the footage were circulating on various websites like YouTube and Reddit, the commission's report says. "Days after the terrorist attack, the manifesto and the video were classified as objectionable by New Zealand’s Chief Censor, making it illegal to possess and distribute them. Both are, however, still available on websites based outside of New Zealand," it says. Based on his deposition before commission, the report says that Tarrant used YouTube to find tutorials and instructions on how package firearm parts that he had purchased to modify his own firearms which included a semi-automatic rifles and shotguns and a lever action rifle. Tarrant also made financial contributions to podcasts and groups on social media websites like YouTube, the report says. With content creators allowed to freely upload videos on YouTube, including political content, the Google-owned video-streaming platform has been in between providing a free website to the creators and…
