The CEOs of four major social media platforms have been called to testify in front of a U.S. House Committee concerning online radicalization following the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Bosses at Discord, Reddit, Twitch and Steam have all been summoned to the October 8 hearing, which aims to “oversee the online platforms that radicals have used to advance political violence.”
Gaming Culture Blamed for Charlie Kirk Assassination
The request comes after several inscriptions referencing videogames were found on discarded bullet casings at the scene, prompting Utah governor Spencer Cox to place at least part of the blame on “Reddit culture.” These included a Helldivers 2 input, and a reference to the song Bella Ciao, featured in Far Cry 6 and Hearts of Iron IV.
In texts presented by authorities alleged to be from suspect Tyler Robinson to his roommate, Robinson stated: “Remember how I was engraving bullets? The f***in messages are mostly a big meme.”
The letter which was sent to the four companies stated that the hearing “will examine radicalization of online forum users, including incidents of open incitement to commit violent politically motivated acts.”
CEOs Respond to Invitation to Testify Over Charlie Kirk
A spokesperson for Discord responded to the request by welcoming the opportunity, stating: “We continuously engage with policymakers on these critical issues and look forward to continuing this important dialogue next month.”
A statement from Reddit, meanwhile, was cooler on the hearing, saying that the company had not been able to find any conclusive evidence that Robinson had been active on the community, adding that the site already “has strong policies against hateful content and content that incites, encourages, glorifies or calls for violence.”
Steam and Twitch have yet to respond to the request.
