A deadly attack alongside the Berlin Parade of Equality echoed in social media, which is hard to understand. alternatively of compassion under any of the entries, there was a wave of mockery and ridicule from the victims. German media describe dozens of mocking comments in which netizens regretted a wrecked car alternatively than a killed woman. It's a bitter image of anesthesia in the net.
You're mocking me alternatively of mourning.
According to the conservative portal Apollo News, the news of the attack rapidly revolved around the world, and under 1 of the abroad Facebook entries swarmed with reactions mocking the tragedy. According to this source, thousands of people reacted with "funny" emoticons, and comments featured entries specified as "if nothing happened to the car". The portal indicates that comments have remained undisclosed for a long time. It is worth noting that detailed numbers come from 1 service and are hard to verify independently.
A phenomenon wider than 1 entry
The very fact that the tragedy has caused a wave of ridicule and approval for violence, however, is confirmed by another editorials. The left-wing diary "taz" noted that in social media any utmost environments declared that they could "join" the perpetrator. So the ridicule and triumph following the death of an accidental victim flowed from different sides. The common denominator was dehumanizing people who died or were injured during a public event.
Questions about platform liability
This situation raises the question of the work of social networks. If the content of openly commendable killing remains visible for hours, the moderation mechanisms fail. For now, there is no confirmed information about the initiation of specified proceedings to the authors, although in German law, the call for force and the praise of crime are criminal. The scale of the phenomenon shows how hard it is for platforms to control the wave of hatred in the first hours after the tragedy.
A Law That Is Exerted
Germany is 1 of the countries that treat hatred speech comparatively harshly on the Internet. The penal code there provides, among another things, for public approval of crimes and incitement to hatred of population groups. Separate rules require large platforms to clear out illegal content. In the past, there have been proceedings in Germany against those who celebrated the attacks online. Will it be akin this time, they will show the coming weeks, due to the fact that it can be time-consuming to find the authors of anonymous entries.
Anesthesia to others’ suffering
Behind the mockery lies a phenomenon wider than 1 assassination. The anonymity and distance of the screen are conducive to the fact that the death of another man is only an chance for many to make a political joke. The victim ceases to be a individual with a name, household and loved ones, and turns into a point in online tribal war. This is simply a dangerous process, due to the fact that it gradually shifts the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in public debate.
Shadow over the victim's memory
You must not forget who you are talking about. In the Berlin attack, a peculiar woman, a Polish citizen, was killed who came to the German capital with her daughter. For her loved ones, any mocking entry is an additional blow to the minute of mourning. Network mockery doesn't change the facts, but they talk a lot about the state of public debate. The memory of the victim deserves seriousness, not laughing emoticons.
Source: Apollo News
