New Zealand Gunman Says ‘Subscribe To PewDiePie’ Moments Before Livestreaming Shooting [UPDATED]

5 years ago

March 15, 2019 at 2:30 pm

At least nine people have been confirmed dead and reportedly as many as 50 have been injured after multiple gunmen opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. One shooter livestreamed the shooting through Facebook, saying “Remember lads, subscribe to Pewdiepie” in the first few minutes of the stream.

One of the gunmen, who shouted out the reference to PewDiePie, is believed to be Australian. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the attack, contained in a press conference below, as an “extreme act of violence” against people who had chosen to make New Zealand their home.

BREAKING: A gunman entered a mosque and began shooting with an automatic weapon in New Zealand’s city of Christchurch.

For more on the ‘active shooter’ situation: https://t.co/nGyALTPYhg https://t.co/ETUGfMcHDV

— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) March 15, 2019

New Zealand Police Commissioner:

—“Multiple fatalities” at two mosques in the Christchurch area
—“One person in custody, but we are unsure if there are other people” involved in “active shooter” situation
—Also “unsure if there are any other locations…that are under threat” https://t.co/TxR5RAxL7k

— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) March 15, 2019

Police have advised individuals to remain inside for the time being. One suspect has been apprehended and remains in custody.

Snippets of the shooting are still available across social media and multiple video platforms. The entire stream ran for approximately 18 minutes, with the shooter posting a message on the 8chan forums before the stream. “Please do your part by spreading my message, making memes and shitposting as you usually do,” part of the 8chan message reads.

All schools in Christchurch have been put on a lockdown. Two mosques were attacked by two separate shootings, with unconfirmed reports that a bomb has also been discovered in the nearby area.

Update 4:06PM: Pewdiepie has released a statement on Twitter on the matter.

Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch.
I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person.
My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.

— ƿ૯ωძɿ૯ƿɿ૯ (@pewdiepie) March 15, 2019

This story is developing…

Comments

135 responses to “New Zealand Gunman Says ‘Subscribe To PewDiePie’ Moments Before Livestreaming Shooting [UPDATED]”

READ THE COMMENTS

alexwalker

March 15, 2019 at 2:36 pm

As someone who just had to go through it for this story: don’t watch the fucking video.

DON’T watch the fucking video. Do not search for it, do not watch it.

DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO.

You do not need that in your life.

Reply
1. zambayoshi
  
  March 15, 2019 at 2:45 pm
  
  Thanks for the heads up, mate. Will not watch.
  
  Reply
2. zar
  
  March 15, 2019 at 2:45 pm
  
  You okay mate
  
  Reply
3. zico
  
  March 15, 2019 at 2:51 pm
  
  Cheers Alex. You’re a good bloke.
  
  Reply
4. th
  
  March 15, 2019 at 2:56 pm
  
  Go watch something happy and take your mind out of it. Be kind to yourself.
  
  Reply
5. thyco
  
  March 15, 2019 at 2:58 pm
  
  I hope you’re ok mate, if you have a partner and kids, go home and hug them extra hard tonight. if not go and hug your folks
  
  Reply
6. NikT
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:00 pm
  
  Thanks dude, will not watch.
  
  Reply
7. derrick
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:03 pm
  
  Being a journo fkn sucks sometimes. Hope you’re ok.
  
  Reply
8. Dave Jansen
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:24 pm
  
  Mate, what a shit thing to have to report on.
  
  Reply
9. soldant
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:33 pm
  
  Alex I don’t know if my advice is really helpful, but as someone who sees horrible stuff in emergency services daily – don’t be afraid to talk to someone about it if it’s upset you or you keep thinking about it.
  
  Reply
10. zeitxgeist
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:35 pm
  
  I like gore stuff, so I’ll be watching it. But yeah this is a pretty messed up thing to do.
  
  Reply
  1. liondrive
    
    March 15, 2019 at 6:56 pm
    
    Mate, time and place. This isn’t “gore stuff”, this is a real tragedy and real lives that literally just happened and has had and will have a grievous impact on lots of peoples lives.
    
    It’s ok to not be squeamish with gory things, but that’s not what this is.
    
    This is a tragedy.
    
    Reply
  2. cffndncr
    
    March 16, 2019 at 12:53 am
    
    Dude, no.
    
    I say this as a total horror movie gorehound – the bloodier the better. But this scum wanted to spread this video – he wanted people to watch it. The best protest we make do is to not watch, to honor the victims, and use this as a catalyst to promote unity instead of division.
    
    Reply
  3. weresmurf
    
    March 16, 2019 at 10:17 pm
    
    What the honest fuck is wrong with you? That isn’t ‘gore stuff’, that’s innocent people being murdered.
    
    Reply
    1. zeitxgeist
      
      March 18, 2019 at 9:52 am
      
      Nothing! I just enjoy watching those kinds of things, it’s fascinating.
      
      Reply
11. falkirion001
  
  March 15, 2019 at 4:06 pm
  
  Alex don’t be afraid to seek help if what you saw affects you at all. Don’t need to keep that bottled up inside yourself.
  
  Reply
12. kate_
  
  March 15, 2019 at 4:40 pm
  
  accidentally clicked on the video and it made me throw up, cant believe that there are people like that out there its disgusting, my thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this
  
  Reply
13. troutslap
  
  March 15, 2019 at 6:41 pm
  
  I have seen a lot of gore videos, pretty much desensitized to most everything.
  
  I watched the video, dont just think Alex is being politically correct or saying what he is supposed to by asking people not to watch it.
  
  Really you shouldn’t, theres nothing in there exiting or new, i now feel like shit and am anxious / wound up.
  
  if anything it has made me appreciate my life / kids more but really do your self a favor and avoid this one its really not worth it.
  
  Reply
14. Norbert
  
  March 15, 2019 at 9:47 pm
  
  I saw it. Horrible I’m not too sensitive but when the woman on the street shout for help to the cars on the other side before she got shoot in the head that make shit up in me.
  
  Reply
15. slipp3r
  
  March 15, 2019 at 10:41 pm
  
  Agreed. DO NOT WATCH. I wish I saw this article before I saw the video. Just fucking horrible.
  
  Reply
thatteemo

March 15, 2019 at 2:44 pm

I don’t know how I feel about the existence of this article.

I get that PewDiePie has a connection to video gaming and internet culture, but what kind of connection is the article trying to make here?

Seems almost distasteful (in my opinion) considering how soon this incident has happened.

Reply
1. zambayoshi
  
  March 15, 2019 at 2:46 pm
  
  It’s a kind of, damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. The reference was made, so the reporter reports. It’s a shitty state of affairs, but that’s the way the media works.
  
  Reply
  1. thatteemo
    
    March 15, 2019 at 2:50 pm
    
    I just had how we report on shooting. It glorifies the event by showing how much news you can get and it encourages people to watch sickening videos of murders commiting the crimes.
    
    Reply
    1. alexwalker
      
      March 15, 2019 at 3:09 pm
      
      I don’t know that reporting on something glorifies it, because context matters. There’s the other side too – not reporting on it means, as an outlet, we think it should be ignored and isn’t worth covering.
      
      My personal preference is that I want absolutely nothing, ever, at any point, to do with this.
      
      I’m still shaking.
      
      Reply
      1. My name is Jef
        
        March 15, 2019 at 6:01 pm
        
        @alexwalker I might not agree with the need for this article to be on Kotaku but i do appreciate how you have not show the shooters faces or named them the event of today might need to be remembered but they sure as hell don’t.
      2. Wooter
        
        March 15, 2019 at 7:14 pm
        
        Come on, be honest with yourself. It’s a clickbait title and shouldn’t be on Kotaku at all. As a New Zealander I find it disgusting. This tragedy has nothing to do with Pewdiepie. It’s an internet meme. Good to see the advertising is still up also which solidifies my point on the clickbaiting – Note: NZherald has taken their advertising off.
2. djbear
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:14 pm
  
  I fully believe this article shouldnot be here at all.
  
  I can’t almost guarantee now polygon or the verge will post an article seeking to somehow indirectly blame PewDiePie for this event.
  
  Imo. Gaming links to this event are lax at best and this article should be removed. It screams of “hey PewDiePie and a mass shooting! Hell yeah easy clicks and ad revenue”
  
  FYI, there are ads on this article. Which makes the posting of this questionable.
  
  Reply
  1. alexwalker
    
    March 15, 2019 at 3:19 pm
    
    That’s an incredibly good point to make. Thank you – they’ve been disabled. My apologies, that was completely my oversight. (Update: all of them should be gone – turns out the tools I have on my end to disable everything doesn’t *actually* disable everything, but some kind people internally were able to help me very quickly to sort that out.)
    
    Reply
    1. cmac
      
      March 15, 2019 at 4:03 pm
      
      Despite the obvious distress it has caused you to have to write such an article and likely well removed from your standard journalistic endeavours, I want to actually thank you.
      
      I always like to keep abreast of the news both local and international and usually catch up on it in the evening. I pop on here during my workday for some light entertainment to break up the day. But, as a Kiwi, this article gave me a heads up I wouldn’t have until way later and allowed me to check on rellies in Christchurch. Tenuous to gaming or not, it is a news story and is of use to some of us. Not every article has to be for everyone.
      
      Feel for what you had to watch but thank you again. Please ignore the self-important gate-keepers of what is relevant on this site.
      
      Reply
    2. djbear
      
      March 15, 2019 at 4:50 pm
      
      Thanks Alex. 🙂
      
      Hope the day goes better for you
      
      Reply
  2. Jackjack
    
    March 15, 2019 at 4:01 pm
    
    It’s pretty simple. PewDiePie promotes racism and white supremacists love his channel.
    
    Violent white supremacy grows, like bacteria in a petri dish, where it has a medium to do so.
    
    The “ironic racism” of PDP leads to a toxic stew of hate that leads to murder. Here it is.
    
    Reply
    1. djbear
      
      March 15, 2019 at 4:26 pm
      
      You are a disgusting human being.
      
      Reply
      1. jbp
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:54 pm
        
        Not really. There’s plenty of data on and research on normalisation. You can disagree with the post but it’s not disgusting to draw a fairly reasonable conclusion that normalisation can instill courage in sick people
      2. djbear
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:57 pm
        
        If you think PewDiePie in any way encouraged this you are a disgusting human being.
      3. jbp
        
        March 15, 2019 at 5:42 pm
        
        I didn’t say he did. His ironic racism is part of normalisation. You don’t need to actively say shoot people, your conduct or even mistakes can contribute to normalisation. The reason the guy mentioned pew die pie is probably because he’s made a couple of mistakes or poor judgments and sick people think he’s on their team.
      4. soldant
        
        March 15, 2019 at 6:46 pm
        
        You’re talking complete bullshit. Read his manifesto if you really care that much about laying blame, he spells it all out for you.
        
        I agree that casual racism shouldn’t be dismissed but if you think PDP played any role in promoting or influencing this, you’re deluded.
      5. djbear
        
        March 15, 2019 at 9:30 pm
        
        PewDiePie normalises racism just as much Bernie Sanders normalises a Socialist Dictatorship.
        Both of them don’t at all.
        
        You saying he is normalising it is saying he encouraged it without actually saying the words. You are quite literally saying he holds some responsibility for the incident. I do wonder whether you have actually watched his content or just read what Vox media and polygon say about him.
      6. weresmurf
        
        March 16, 2019 at 10:20 pm
        
        What absolute kneejerk rot.
      7. lord_of_worms
        
        March 15, 2019 at 6:52 pm
        
        while there is evidence to ‘normalization’,
        the backlash PDP faced from his comments was ultimately dialed back. PDPs “racism” was actually taken out of context from the satire/lampooning of ‘Fivrr’ where people would do anything for money, even socially questionable acts promoting racism. The focus of PDP’s actions was showing that these people will ignore a moral compass for just a small fee.
        
        Claiming that PDP was engaging in normalization of a racist agenda with intent to instigate, or even permit the actions reported on, is a pretty wild accusation.
        
        why dont we point a finger at ‘Rick and Morty’ for making fun of Hitler (Abradolf Lincler), or 2001 movie “rat race” for including white supremacists as comic relief to Jon Lovitt’s character??
        
        Cmon man, be better!
      8. jbp
        
        March 15, 2019 at 7:04 pm
        
        People are saying blame (one I can’t reply to). I’m not blaming him. He’s a banner for this brand of idiocy though because if his n bomb and sign re killing Jews. If that’s not either intentionally or incidentally normalising racist conduct then that’s your position. A lot of people are defending PDP from attacks he isn’t even on the receiving end of.
      9. Jonnathan
        
        March 15, 2019 at 8:55 pm
        
        Interestingly, I would be willing to bet my life savings that you don’t think majority-Muslim countries normalize the kind of attitude and culture that encourages terrorism, right? Interesting how you think that a popular figure on the internet suddenly normalizes bigotry when there are only two examples of him using slurs, one of which was for shock humour.
        
        With that kind of logical leap, you may as well say that anyone who watches or reads books about the Nazis will be inclined to adopt their ideology through exposure, as though they’re 4-year olds who don’t understand right from wrong.
      10. jbp
        
        March 15, 2019 at 7:06 pm
        
        Anyway I won’t post for a while because the same five down voters as usual have arrived to have anyone with an opinion moderated lmao
      11. simocrates
        
        March 15, 2019 at 7:52 pm
        
        Clearly you are the victim here.
      12. jagji
        
        March 16, 2019 at 5:19 pm
        
        Wow… how many people died, and you want to play the victim because you’re accusing someone of something with no proof of anything. FFS, your exactly the same as the shooter. You get that, right? You have your ideas, and only yours, and if anyone says otherwise, then there the problem. That’s the basis of every to bit shit stain the world has.
  3. pylgrim
    
    March 18, 2019 at 12:31 am
    
    It’s not so much “blame” that needs to be discussed but “responsibility”. People like PDP… you know their semi-official job titles in one of the biggest industries there is in our modern times, right? “Influencers”. These people have audiences in the hundreds of thousands, comprised significantly of easily impressionable kids and youth.
    
    While trying to trace a direct line between PDP and the shooter is an exercise in inanity, we are overdue to start asking hard questions regarding the responsibility of people who hold such a sway over such massive numbers of young people. Hell, if a mass murdered uttered my name /in the midst/ of an act of carnage, I’d take some time to consider what have I done to create such a sense of kinship in a murderer to utter my name while murdering people… and I have 0 influence over anybody.
    
    So should we point a finger at PDP and cry “shame, shame! You have created a murderer!”? Certainly not. But shouldn’t we start expecting and demanding higher standards from him and others like him? I dunno, at the very, very least not trying to make a joke of antisemitism nor humorously making light of the fact your antisemite parody made you a neo-nazi icon? I don’t think it is a too big thing to ask from somebody who makes 5 to 6 figures for sitting on his ass and talking to kids.
    
    Reply
3. RMayo
  
  March 15, 2019 at 8:33 pm
  
  The shooter was on an 8Chan board and that’s just a ton of memelords. Felix does “Meme Review” on his Pewdiepie channel and it helps a lot of memes get trending. Also, the whole Pewdiepie vs T-Series “subscribe to Pewdiepie” thing is kind of a meme in itself and is known worldwide. It’s likely that was also passed around in 8chan where the shooter was hanging out.
  
  Reply
skrybe

March 15, 2019 at 3:11 pm

Jesus, I feel sorry for our NZ neighbours. This is terrible. I hope they catch the second terrorist (because that’s what they are) and get to the bottom of this.

Reply
1. pokedad
  
  March 15, 2019 at 3:17 pm
  
  Just wait until the racist screed is dismissed, the white supremacist bullshit ignored, the fact that they were totally aware of their actions downplayed and the major media outlets start calling them “mentally ill” instead of “terrorists.”
  
  Reply
  1. skrybe
    
    March 15, 2019 at 3:24 pm
    
    I don’t think mentally ill and terrorist are mutually exclusive. Honestly, I think you have to have something fundamentally wrong with you to want to go round killing people whether you’re brainwashed or not.
    
    Reply
    1. darren
      
      March 15, 2019 at 3:29 pm
      
      Terrorists usually have some sort of ideology they are trying to spread, cause fear or sort.. The Port Arthur attack, I wouldn’t call that terrorist. The dude clearly did have some mental issues.
      
      Reply
      1. skrybe
        
        March 15, 2019 at 3:39 pm
        
        I didn’t mean everyone who is mentally ill (like the PA attack) is a terrorist. I do however believe that anyone who is a terrorist is mentally ill. I can’t believe that it’s possible for a perfectly sane human to go from being horrified at the idea to thinking it’s great.
      2. darren
        
        March 15, 2019 at 3:42 pm
        
        All you’ve got to do is dehumanise the other side. Heck, soldiers to this in war to cope with what they have to do sometimes.
        
        also edit to my previous comment – I’ve read some more info and looks like the guy had a manifesto. Quite possibly a terrorist.
      3. skrybe
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:03 pm
        
        Maybe, but there’s a world of difference between fighting armed combatants and being willing to walk into a place of worship and shoot unarmed civilians. That’s where I think you need to have something mentally wrong with you in order to find that acceptable.
        
        I also think that the majority of soldiers are balanced and sane and that’s why so many suffer from PTSD. Because they don’t want to do horrible things and it’s the reaction to being forced to.
      4. pokedad
        
        March 15, 2019 at 3:48 pm
        
        The link between mental health issues and violence in the public conscience is a really troubling one. Mentally ill people are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. I can’t remember the paper I read last on it, but the number was something like 75% more likely to be a victim of violence than a mentally well person.
        
        The fact is, some people are just pieces of shit. You don’t get to pretend someone wasn’t in control of their actions when it suits the narrative and these dudes have planned and executed attacks based on a manifesto they wrote denying the basic humanity of people based on religion. They’re not ill. They’re terrorists using scripted violence to push a political agenda.
      5. derrick
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:00 pm
        
        Do you mean this guy was ‘mentally ill’ in the colloquial sense – i.e. that he’s just f*cked in the head – or that he actually has a legitimate mental illness?
        
        There’s no mental illness that makes people commit premeditated terrorist attacks. Being a shit person – the kind of person who would – isn’t a mental illness.
      6. skrybe
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:07 pm
        
        Mental illness is a huge spectrum. Like @pokedad says a mentally ill person is more likely to be a victim of violence. But those people are usually suffering a different condition to the ones who *commit* violence.
        
        I think being a sociopath or psychopath would make you more willing to perform a terrorist attack. Though, maybe not a suicide attack.
      7. derrick
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:29 pm
        
        Yeah true, it is a very broad spectrum. My general understanding was that violence associated with sociopathy or psychopathy typically has a more impulsive, self-serving quality to it though. The premeditation, as well as the apparent political motivations, suggests to me that it’s less likely to be a result of those illnesses.
        
        I guess I’m just trying to say that conflating mental illness with terrorism is problematic at best. At worst it can let terrorists excuse their actions, and put legitimate mental health sufferers on the hook unnecessarily.
      8. cffndncr
        
        March 16, 2019 at 1:03 am
        
        One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
        
        This is a horribly complicated issue, and while mental health is a huge part of it, I don’t think you can paint it with such broad strokes. The Nazi’s labelled the French Resistance as terrorists, but everyone else called them Freedom Fighters.
        
        Don’t get me wrong – this guy is the lowest of scum, and I’m fairly sure that mental health would play a part here, but there are other factors at play as well.
      9. skrybe
        
        March 17, 2019 at 2:03 pm
        
        While the French Resistance’ acts were (maybe?) labeled as terrorist attacks by Nazis the reason most don’t see them as terrorists is because they were attacked by a vastly superior force and were defending their homes by attacks on miltary forces. Modern terrorism is typically attacks on civilians and frequently in other countries.
        
        I think if IS forces were only targeting military targets in their own homelands rather than attacking civilians in London or Paris they’d get a lot less hate.
  2. soldant
    
    March 15, 2019 at 3:30 pm
    
    They probably won’t – but worth nothing that major incidents here like the Lindt Cafe attack had all sorts of hand-wringing articles about mental health despite the motivations being obvious. This will be called out for what it is – a hate crime.
    
    Reply
    1. zorastin
      
      March 15, 2019 at 8:00 pm
      
      yeah but the Lindt cafe seige wasnt a terrorist attack. The perpetrator had no links to any terrorist organization and just wanted to be famous. heck he had to ask for a isis flag and yes this should be called a hate crime,. The news is already muddying the waters by calling it a terror event, btw the way a made up word by a our fear loving government. I really liked Jacinda Ardens thoughtful and eloquent response speech to what happened today.
      
      Reply
      1. soldant
        
        March 15, 2019 at 8:50 pm
        
        I didn’t mention terrorism – I called it an attack.
        
        Monis is a somewhat unusual case, but you don’t just call for particular ideological symbols for the hell of it. He clearly wasn’t in a good mental state but he was also clearly influenced by ISIL propaganda – the fact he had no clear connection is irrelevant. Similarly this guy might end up diagnosed with some MH disorder but it’s irrelevant given the masses of material he’s posted showing this was an ideologically motivated attack. Trying to downplay that is disingenuous.
      2. zorastin
        
        March 15, 2019 at 11:55 pm
        
        hmmm and i wonder where he got his ideology from (NZ attack). Regarding Monis he just wanted to be infamous and they gave it to him in spades and you do call for an ISIL flag if you want maximum exposure, its a no brainer. Our governments long history of dogwhistling, scaremongering and outright fabrications under a cloak of operational matters going back to the Tampa etc would have even had an effect on this current New Zealand case given the Australian involved. They have helped to breed this kind of hatred. So yes it is a hate crime and maybe should be called terrorism. It just frustrates me and makes me mad that there should be some culpability from our government from crying wolf repeatedly, trying to almost drum up terrorism or take for example restarting the boats. The only ones broadcasting to the world that Australia was open to boats again were the liberals under the medivac program.Anyway rant over,just cross and saddened by todays news and wished we lived in a more intelligent, rational and reasonable world.
      3. soldant
        
        March 16, 2019 at 9:07 am
        
        This guy’s influences are somewhat stated in his manifesto but not specifically named. But anyone who reads a bit more won’t have trouble figuring out where he circulated.
        
        Monis didn’t want to be infamous. It’s widely accepted it was a combination of emotional stress, mental health, and self-radicalisation. He was already known for criminal activity. Monis flipped his shit and then decided to attack people in the name of extremist ideology.
        
        While the Libs are fucking awful, they aren’t calling for a race war and a white ethnostate like this guy. There are some legitimate concerns with immigration processing and intake that aren’t just “dey took ur jerbs an babbys”. You can’t lay the blame of this at the feet of the government any more than you can lay Islamic extremists at the feet of moderate Islamic groups because of superficial association. This little shit stain was clearly influences by right wing extremists.
      4. zorastin
        
        March 16, 2019 at 11:25 am
        
        Yeah i get that about the immigration thing. Im not saying there is a direct link but he comes from a society that has been led by people who have implemented policy and stoked racial vilification.why do you think we always see the rise of pauline Hanson and co every time the Libs are in. We have even had lobbyists and fake news organisations being spread and endorsed by Liberal politicians that meme this shit up(see George Christensen, Jim Molan et al). this directly stokes the fires. Anyway he is a little shit stain, I totally agree.
      5. skrybe
        
        March 17, 2019 at 2:11 pm
        
        @zorastin I think we see Pauline Hansen rise in popularity not *just* because of some sort of racist agenda. I think part of it is people are sick of the ongoing BS from the two major political parties and they’re looking for someone *anyone* else to vote for. If you actually read some of the One Nation policies they’re not *all* bad ideas. Unfortunately for every good idea there’s a bad one… so I wouldn’t vote for them.
        
        And yeah, I think you’re seriously wrong about politicians stoking this. None of them have a “lets kick all muslims out” agenda or a “we’re the best race” mantra.
      6. zorastin
        
        March 18, 2019 at 3:11 pm
        
        You must be joking right skrybe the most cursory of looks at the history of the liberal party and the recent revelations of lobbyist think tank fake news sites being found out for producing fake propaganda. All of Pauline hansons preferences and also her vote on just about every matter go to the Liberal party. i suggest you do a little research. im probably much older than you too so the Liberals have been stoking this for a long time. we will have to agree to disagree. this shit has been coming for a long time.
  3. zeitxgeist
    
    March 15, 2019 at 3:55 pm
    
    uh… except he released his manifesto explicitly calling himself a terrorist by definition, so I doubt that will happen. Also in almost every instance of that occurring, it’s been because it wasn’t terrorism by definition.
    
    Reply
  4. jamesh
    
    March 15, 2019 at 6:11 pm
    
    I don’t think Australia and New Zealand has quite the same aversion to labelling white people as terrorists, compared to the United States. I don’t doubt some conservative politicians/media figures will trot out the “mentally ill” line though.
    
    Reply
tritoch

March 15, 2019 at 3:25 pm

no one is going to blame pewdiepie. you guys are so defensive and quick to defend. this is about context and the facts. the fact is: the gunman meme’d himself by doing this. this is not acceptable, the meme shitposting and circle jerk evolved into this violence is disgusting and horrifying.

this needs to be out. this is the state of things of our world.

Reply
1. adamrorke
  
  March 15, 2019 at 4:54 pm
  
  People online in my social feeds, people who I don’t even follow (but it shows up anyway) are directly blaming him for it.
  
  So yes, people are doing this. Alex didn’t, he just reported on it in the article, which is fair enough since that’s indeed a fact of this entire horrible incident).
  
  So yes people are defensive and there’s a reason they are. If people want to start a conversation about whether or not he incited such an event, go for it, but I feel that most people don’t want to have a conversation about it.
  
  Reply
  1. thyco
    
    March 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm
    
    yep and the exact same shit happened with CoD after the Norweigan Shitcunt put it in his manifesto to try and divert blame
    
    Reply
    1. skrybe
      
      March 17, 2019 at 2:17 pm
      
      This is a discussion I’ve had with friends a couple times in the wake of atrocities like these. People often claim (or other people link them to) some cause for the violence. Like “used to play CoD” or “read too much GoT” or whatever tenuous link can be dredged up.
      
      I think if I was so fucked up that I was going perform an attack I’d choose something deliberately to use as a scapegoat. Something I didn’t like. Maybe a celebrity “Kanye made me do it” or a politician whose views I hated or a company I thought was evil. *Just to give them negative publicity*
      
      Maybe that’s what this idiot was doing? Did he genuinely like pewdiepie or was he just trying to tarnish the guy by mentioning him?
      
      Reply
      1. zorastin
        
        March 18, 2019 at 3:16 pm
        
        Are you a paid govenrment hack Skrybe. where have you been, dont you pay attention to any of the politics since 9/11 in this country. It has been a goldmine for the Liberals. by the way one nation is just the racist arm of the Liberal party. hmmmm james Ashby closly related to to one nation and the peter slipper affair that helped bring down Labor. seriously mate dig a little deeper or really at all.
      2. skrybe
        
        March 19, 2019 at 3:09 pm
        
        well that’s a confusing mess
2. pokedad
  
  March 16, 2019 at 9:16 am
  
  I don’t blame pewdiepie for the attack, but he has a history of saying nazi bullshit. He has attracted a hell of a lot of racist shits and hasn’t done anything to tell them to fuck off.
  
  Reply
zico

March 15, 2019 at 3:44 pm

What saddens me is finding sympathetic comments online that justify the actions of this man. Everyone who posts inane hate about Mosques/Muslims online only fuel people like this and they believe they are doing a service to the world. Just be fucking kind to people.

Reply
1. derrick
  
  March 15, 2019 at 4:02 pm
  
  Or they’re just shitposting to get a rise out of people. Either way though, wtf.
  
  Just be fucking kind to people, indeed.
  
  Reply
  1. zombiejesus
    
    March 15, 2019 at 4:59 pm
    
    The problem with shitposting is it only takes one person to take the shitposts as serious and think they have support and reinforcement that their fucked up ideas are justified, to end up with something like this happening. This monster is responsible for his own actions, but as far as I’m concerned anyone who’s shitposted about Muslims had a hand in creating him, because they collectively created the environment that reinforced his fucked up beliefs and incited him to act on them.
    
    Reply
2. jaylien
  
  March 18, 2019 at 1:14 pm
  
  “It’s chaos, be kind.” – Michelle McNamara
  
  Reply
skrybe

March 15, 2019 at 4:12 pm

On a different note, I thought NZ had similar (fairly strict gun rules) to Australia. Is that not the case? Or did these lunatics somehow source illegal firearms?

Reply
1. thyco
  
  March 15, 2019 at 4:21 pm
  
  compared to america, yes they do, compared to us, no they do not
  
  Reply
  1. aelfin
    
    March 15, 2019 at 4:51 pm
    
    According to the New York Times
    
    Gun owners must be licensed, a process that includes a review of criminal activity and mental health, attendance at a safety program, an explanation of how the gun would be used, a residence visit to ensure secure storage, and testimonials from relatives and friends.
    
    Reply
    1. aelfin
      
      March 15, 2019 at 4:52 pm
      
      (according to the NYT about NZ gun law, not about American gun law… Just had to update in case it was read wrongly in relation to your comment @thyco)
      
      Reply
      1. thyco
        
        March 15, 2019 at 4:56 pm
        
        yeah they basically have the common sense gun laws that the NRA is against
    2. skrybe
      
      March 15, 2019 at 5:26 pm
      
      That sounds very much like ours. So did they genuinely have automatic weapons as a couple articles have said or is that misreported?
      
      Reply
      1. tbenton
        
        March 15, 2019 at 6:32 pm
        
        In NZ you can buy automatic weapons provided you pass the checks.
        
        The devastating AR15 is available in NZ for a couple of thousand.
        
        I reckon that will change pretty quickly after this event.
      2. skrybe
        
        March 17, 2019 at 1:53 pm
        
        A quick google (which I probably should have done earlier) says that’s false. It’s legal to buy semi-automatic weapons not automatic ones.
        
        But you’re right, they’re already pushing to change the laws to ban semi-autos now.
zeitxgeist

March 15, 2019 at 4:23 pm

@Alex why is my comment (the reply on your thread) inappropriate? I get the other one I guess you don’t want people feeling encouraged (even tho that wasn’t the point) to watch it, but yeah. Curious.

Reply
1. alexwalker
  
  March 15, 2019 at 4:53 pm
  
  It should be back; I didn’t remove it, so can’t answer why. I think the comment on the nose, and you’re right in that I don’t want any kind of encouragement, but that’s something I think is better handled by communal response.
  
  Reply
kdrizzle

March 15, 2019 at 5:12 pm

This article is defamatory and draws away from what has really happened. This is not the content you should be commenting on.

Also it seems you have made your journalist, Alex Walker work on something traumatising, whether this was his decision or not. This is not ethical reporting.

I vote for you to not only retract the article but post an apologetic follow up statement.

Reply
1. alexwalker
  
  March 15, 2019 at 5:43 pm
  
  I hear what you’re saying, but that doesn’t fit what defamation is. And while I appreciate the sentiment of not wanting to report on stuff, that’s unfortunately the nature of the job. There was similar territory a couple of years back with streamers recording themselves assaulting their partners.
  
  It’s awful. It’s harrowing. Of course I don’t want to write about it. Nobody does.
  
  But that’s the job we sign up for. It’s the same if it’s here, at News Corp, a regional paper, or what have you. Sooner or later, whatever the beat is, every reporter has to do it.
  
  Reply
  1. kdrizzle
    
    March 15, 2019 at 6:05 pm
    
    Thank you for your reply,
    
    I just don’t think Pewdiepie has any part in this at all and should at least have his name redacted from the title. He is an online influencer sure it is evident that he does not condone this, but anyone can watch his videos and anyone can say anything. He is an person first and foremost making fun videos for entertainment. Think about how this impacts on him personally and emotionally.
    
    “New Zealand Gunman Livestreams Shooting [UPDATED]” is the real story
    
    I understand Defamatory is not quite the right word, as it is not false.
    
    However it is not relevant and it is damaging to the reputation of someone who has done nothing wrong and has no connection with the individuals involved.
    
    I think its abysmal to make this the attracting factor in getting people to click through to this article. I hope you can see this too.
    
    It is feeding into exactly what the attackers would have wanted. Diverting from the actual event and attempting to glorify it, and implicate someone else.
    
    I do hope you will consider what i’m saying. One other crazy result – is the uttering of Pewdiepies Youtube handle, has resulted Pewdiepie trending above the actual event on twitter.
    
    Reply
    1. cffndncr
      
      March 16, 2019 at 1:11 am
      
      This isn’t a general news website, it’s specifically about gaming and popular culture. PDP is an important figure in that space, and he was mentioned by name by the gunman, which is probably the only reason that this story is being covered by Kotaku at all.
      
      Reply
    2. gaarindor
      
      March 16, 2019 at 8:29 am
      
      Agreed. Title is absolute trash. Makes it sound like PewDiePie has some part of the blame for what happened.
      
      Reply
    3. pylgrim
      
      March 18, 2019 at 12:37 am
      
      You may think he has no part on it. The shooter disagrees with you. Mind that he didn’t drop PDP’s name while having a drink pre-murders or some other casual and possibly unrelated to the massacre scenario. He invoked his name as he filmed himself murdering people. So the question is not “does PDP has a part on this or not?”, but rather “why did the murderer think he does?”
      
      Reply
2. skrybe
  
  March 17, 2019 at 2:21 pm
  
  It’d only be defamatory if the article suggested the pewdiepie had some hand in causing the attack or encouraged it. Simple quoting a fact of the attack does not do that.
  
  And as for traumatising a reporter, I do feel for Alex having to watch the video. But that’s what reporters do. I’d hope and expect that he wasn’t “forced” to view it but chose to as part of his job and duty to report on the facts.
  
  Reply
jengaship

March 15, 2019 at 6:04 pm

I don’t really like seeing articles about terrorist attacks, because it gives them the worldwide media attention they crave, which I suppose could then lead to more attacks.

But, regardless of that, it’s not just the families and friends of the victims I feel for, it’s the journalists and first responders that have to watch and read into the story far more than we know. I wish you all the best Alex, and hope you don’t have to deal with a story like this again.

Reply
1. skrybe
  
  March 17, 2019 at 2:26 pm
  
  I think the most disturbing thing about this attack is the way a lot of the media is using the gunmans footage. While it does give an idea of the true horror of the attack I think it’s a terrible idea because it’s likely to encourage other idiots to use a go-pro to film their attacks. And it really plays up the almost surreal first person shooter feel of the attacks.
  
  It almost creates a sense of detachment in that it puts you into the eyes of the antagonist NOT the victims. I feel like that is irresponsible. Not that Kotaku has done so, but other news media has.
  
  Reply
akeashar

March 15, 2019 at 6:28 pm

40 confirmed dead now. It’s shocking. The only nationality of any of the four arrested so far is given as an Australian. I’m on the train now and some younger guys were watching the footage on their phone. Pretty messed up world.

Reply
press

March 15, 2019 at 7:20 pm

Not gunman, TERRORIST. When a muslim kills innocent people he is called terrorist. When a christian kills innocent people he is called gunman, shooter….You are disguisting…

Reply
feral

March 15, 2019 at 9:04 pm

He also quotes ‘Spyro the dragon’ and Fortnite in his Manifesto, laughingly, saying he was not influenced by games. However some news outlets are quoting “Fortnite trained me to be a killer” and leaving out the bit about flossing.. Brace for the inevitable games are bad fallout.

Reply
almightysparrow

March 15, 2019 at 9:24 pm

Why would anyone want to watch the footage of the own free will, is it just a fucked kind of morbid curiosity and at what point would you just not want to watch something so horrific, would you watch someone being tortured, raped or beheaded

This shit exists that’s one thing but actively looking for it is just messed up, does it improve your life in someway, does it reinforce some idea you have, do people just get off on it.

It’s sickening just the thought of it makes me ill and I’m sorry that you @Alex were in a position where for this story you were compelled to watch it.

Reply
1. janedoe
  
  March 15, 2019 at 11:42 pm
  
  I’m not exactly sure why a lot of people watch this stuff, some are emotionless sick people that are detached from reality, much like the shooter.
  
  I watched it and I’m an extremely empathic and emotional person. My brother in law watched it, he was in lock down in the city centre, he didn’t watch it out of curiosity. My mum is over there too. My nephews were in lock down. I watched it out of some sort of sense of duty and respect, if something threatens my family I want to see what it is. The emotions I feel having seen that video are so powerful they are rarely felt, a mixture of ineffable hatred for the people that commit these gutless disgusting acts and extreme love for my family and the victims, their lives and families, their communities. As sick as I feel, its important to me to understand with my own eyes. That being said not everyone should watch it. Its just important to me, my family is over there and I don’t know why but I had too. My brother in law watched it and that shocked me but I think its the same for him as me.
  
  Reply
2. skrybe
  
  March 17, 2019 at 2:31 pm
  
  Sadly some people do get a perverse thrill from watching real death and violence. I know a couple people who would gleefully send links to said videos. I ended up blocking their emails because they’re too fucked up. The thing is they seem to be happy and well adjusted in every other way.
  
  I think it’s some sort of built in instinct, that we need to view something horrible when it happens in order to learn about it and hopefully understand it. Basically to try to work out why that terrible thing happened so we can avoid it ourselves.
  
  Reply
  1. zorastin
    
    March 18, 2019 at 3:19 pm
    
    yes skrybe look at their influences, where they get the idea that is socially acceptable to have such hatred towards muslims.
    
    Reply
    1. skrybe
      
      March 19, 2019 at 3:13 pm
      
      No one said anything about muslims. The friends I mentioned used to send me videos of people getting hit by a bus or committing suicide. It had and still has nothing to do with race or religion. There are just some people who find violence and death enthralling. Which like I pointed out my stem from an urge for self-protection.
      
      Reply
James Thornton

March 15, 2019 at 10:19 pm

Why would an Australian gunman tell us to subscribe to Pewdiepie’s YouTube in a few minutes before the stream.
It just doesn’t make any fucking sense at all I mean dozens of people were injured and 9 people are dead so what the fuck is this all about?!
The gunman is due to be charged with murder and attempted for the Christchurch mass shooting.
You know what Alex Walker fuck this shit!

Reply
1. soldant
  
  March 15, 2019 at 11:46 pm
  
  He said a couple of different memes and this was just one of them. This meme has been popular lately for some reason (something about getting subs) but isn’t really hate-related. Ironically this was the least offensive thing he said and had zero relevance to anything that was going on.
  
  Reply
  1. skrybe
    
    March 17, 2019 at 2:32 pm
    
    I don’t want to view the video, but I’d be interested if there is a transcription of his comments available somewhere. I’d like to know exactly what he said.
    
    Reply
    1. soldant
      
      March 17, 2019 at 9:25 pm
      
      Short version was crap like referencing “remove kebab”. The “sub to PDP” part was right near the beginning. He probably spewed some other 8chan bullshit but I don’t remember, it pales in comparison to what goes on.
      
      Reply
      1. skrybe
        
        March 18, 2019 at 12:58 pm
        
        Agreed, but it’s hard to discuss rationally with people without knowing exactly what was said. I’ve already talked with a couple friends who are repeating some media comments that don’t line up with what I’ve read here so far. So the truth is already getting distorted.
janedoe

March 15, 2019 at 11:49 pm

Absolutey disgusting. I feel so ashamed that he was Australian and I’m not sure why as I’m not really patriotic or anything but it really hits home that someone from my country around my age did this. Its always horrible but it hits home. Its so sickening. Completely cold and emotionless, he didn’t even come across as hateful which might sound strange but its so fucking disturbing.. he’s not a human being and shouldn’t be treated as such. He should be tortured for the rest of his life in the most horrible of ways.

Reply
1. cffndncr
  
  March 16, 2019 at 1:17 am
  
  Going into a fit of rage and doing something terrible is one thing, but being cold and calculated while doing something so unthinkably evil… it’s terrifying.
  
  Reply
  1. janedoe
    
    March 16, 2019 at 3:34 am
    
    Its exactly like that disgusting anders from Norway. Its surreal and terrifying seeing someone commit murder whilst being relatively calm and making little jokes like its nothing. Its not half as terrifying when someone is screaming and angry because that in a way makes some sort of sense.
    
    Reply
2. deek
  
  March 16, 2019 at 2:21 am
  
  Don’t be ashamed. His actions are most decidedly not Australian. He has lost his right to live in our society. He will be shunned by friends, family, associates, and clients. He has shown himself to be a person of little worth. In a way, it’s kind of sad.
  
  I can’t condone torture, but I certainly think he will, and should, be locked away to never ever have proper social contact with another regular human being, for the rest of his life.
  
  Thanks Alex for posting this article. Awareness of these events is much more preferable to ignorance of them.
  
  Reply
  1. janedoe
    
    March 16, 2019 at 3:28 am
    
    That’s very true about his actions not being Australian, or human at all.
    
    Torture is horrible and I’m against capital punishment but when someone is filming themselves commiting mass murder/terrorism the 21st century in me turns to cave man. Someone who treats humans like he did isn’t going to be that affected from not having contact with them, but I’m sure he’d respond to pain. Irrational and emotional rage moment, excuse me and thankfully there’s level headed people like yourself.
    
    Reply
    1. cffndncr
      
      March 16, 2019 at 5:43 am
      
      I’d actually disagree with you about them not having contact with others. The fact that he livestreamed it and tried to spread his message to me suggests that he would very much want the validation from others – being ignored would defeat the entire purpose of much of what he did (at least in his mind), so that’s about as tough as we can get on them.
      
      They probably expect to be hurt for what they did, and they will see it as becoming martyrs for their cause. The best we can do is lock them in a hole far from anyone else and throw away the key.
      
      Reply
      1. kdrizzle
        
        March 16, 2019 at 11:01 am
        
        I for one hope that the Australians sharing his views are a Minority. However many are using this as fuel for justification.
      2. skrybe
        
        March 17, 2019 at 2:36 pm
        
        I’m generally against the death sentence but in this case where there is absolute, irrefutable proof I think it’s warranted. There are some monsters that shouldn’t be allowed to be a part of society and he’s one of them.
Lucasnox

March 16, 2019 at 6:57 am

Of course the fucker asks 8chan to meme a shooting, to shitpost about what is essentially a terror attack

And its not like the shooter wasnt right about the shitlord nature of 8chan when they asked for that, its hard to have any faith in humanity left these days

But seriously, this was terrorism, does it ever get reported as terrorism on the tv news when the shooters arent muslim? No, but this is terrorism, fuckers wanted to scare a group by commiting extreme violence against them

Thats terorrism

Reply
derrick

March 16, 2019 at 2:31 pm

@kethic did you seriously go through and downvote every single comment on this thread? wtf

Reply
1. djbear
  
  March 16, 2019 at 9:07 pm
  
  Yes he has.
  
  @kethic is too much of a coward to actually comment.
  
  Reply
2. djbear
  
  March 16, 2019 at 9:08 pm
  
  @alexwalker is there anything you can do about this account?
  
  It has no comments and seems to pick random articles to just downvote every comment without actually contributing anything.
  
  Reply
  1. djbear
    
    March 16, 2019 at 9:18 pm
    
    Here is some evidence to back my assertion up.
    
    Here are several articles in which the account has not commented at all and has just downvoted every single comment.
    
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/what-are-you-playing-this-weekend-481/
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/left-4-dead-makers-are-back-with-a-new-zombie-game/
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/avengers-end-war-trailer-captain-marvel-mcu/
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/cheat-makers-say-theyre-cleaning-up-in-apex-legends/
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/talk-amongst-yourselves-460/
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/valve-says-it-will-remove-off-topic-review-bombs-from-steam-scores/
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/03/valve-removes-over-100-steam-tributes-to-suspected-new-zealand-shooter/
    
    Either the account is a bot or just someone butthurt about kotaku Australia either way its abusing the voting system
    
    Reply
    1. skrybe
      
      March 17, 2019 at 2:39 pm
      
      +1 to this comment. Downvotes are fine when used properly, even if it’s just to indicate that you don’t like an opinion rather than expressing that a post is “bad”. But bulk downvoting every single comment regardless of it’s opinion is just trolling.
      
      Reply
      1. djbear
        
        March 17, 2019 at 3:41 pm
        
        I initially thought it might be a bot.
        
        But given it returns to articles and downvotes comments relating to him/her makes it obvious its an actual person.
      2. pylgrim
        
        March 18, 2019 at 12:43 am
        
        Quick aside to correct that downvotes are not supposed to be used to express dissent, which sadly, is something few people understand. Downvotes are meant to “soft-report” bad comments such as trolling, attacks, bad faith arguments, etc. That’s why downvotes get people into auto-moderation.
      3. alexwalker
        
        March 18, 2019 at 12:05 pm
        
        To ping all the accounts here – action’s being taken. I’m not on the clock on the weekend, and neither is the main site admin, so that’s why there’s been a bit of a delay in responding. But you’re right that it’s outright abuse of the voting system, and it’s being dealt with shortly.
      4. skrybe
        
        March 18, 2019 at 1:01 pm
        
        That may be the original intent, but I still have no problem with someone downvoting a comment they dislike (though I must admit if you downvote something I feel like it’s worth making a comment WHY). To me that’s still a valid reason. But when you downvote both sides of a discussion then you’re abusing the system.
        
        And good to see that something’s being done about the problem.
      5. djbear
        
        March 18, 2019 at 6:49 pm
        
        I think the system could be fixed where downvoting does not enable auto moderation at all. That way it’s just an indication of the community’s views.
        
        The report comment function should auto enable moderation when it receives a certain amount of reports.
      6. skrybe
        
        March 19, 2019 at 3:22 pm
        
        To be honest, that’s what I expected the system to do. I wouldn’t have expected auto-moderation to be a thing when I first started posting on Kotaku.
      7. pylgrim
        
        March 20, 2019 at 6:41 am
        
        Fully agree that I don’t mind downvotes when they’re accompanied with some elaboration.
  2. jaylien
    
    March 18, 2019 at 1:18 pm
    
    Might be a bot. There’s another bot that only posts on articles about Nintendo stuff. Can’t remember the account name but it’s strange and kinda fascinating.
    
    Reply
riddick

March 16, 2019 at 6:48 pm

I have a extremely vivid imagination when it comes to dark things, thus I do not need to watch any such video, besides doing so kind of supports this sort of activities (terrorism).

I am a little disheartened to hear the shooter comes from NSW, I mean we have allot of domestic violence but never home bred terrorism to this level.

Reply

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