The social media giants have removed the Instagram account of the ISIS terrorist who gunned down a British soldier last week. The gunman, who is believed to be a British-born Muslim convert, used the account to post violent videos of himself. The removal of the gunman’s accounts follows a number of other high-profile cases where the Web giants have removed similar content from their sites. Twitter and Facebook have both removed a number of profiles belonging to the terrorist suspect, including one for the accounts of the suspect’s own sister.
The gunman, who shot dead two and injured a third in a rampage in the city of Plymouth in southern England on Friday, had a history of posting angry, violent messages online. Social media companies on Sunday removed his accounts and posted a warning to others. They said that posts he had made “encouraged or glorified violence and may be dangerous”. “We take our responsibilities to protect our users very seriously,” said a Twitter statement. Facebook said that his accounts had been removed.
On Thursday night, gunman Jake Davison, 22, killed five people (Photo: Rex/Shutterstock).
The social media accounts that housed the Plymouth gunman’s postings on his failing love life have been deactivated.
Jake Davison’s Facebook page included conspiracy beliefs similar to those promoted by QAnon followers, including postings about US government “paedophiles” and “devil worshippers.”
He moaned about being a “f****** obese ugly virgin” in numerous YouTube vlogs, characterized himself as “defeated in life,” and seemed to follow a lot of pro-gun accounts.
Davison, 22, killed five people before turning the pistol on himself in the deadliest mass shooting in Britain since 2010.
He identified as a ‘incel,’ which stands for ‘involuntary celibacy,’ a member of an online subculture of individuals who lament their inability to have a sexual life.
Davison’s YouTube and Facebook profiles had been deactivated by Friday noon, and a Reddit account thought to be his could not be accessed on Friday evening.
His account was deactivated due to Facebook’s dangerous people and organizations policy, which prohibits mass killers from using either platform.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, said the gunman’s account had been suspended due to his offline behavior.
Davison wrote video diaries on melancholy, adolescent love, and how terrible his life has been. (Photo courtesy of Jake Davison/YouTube)
Sophie Martyn, three, and her father, Lee Martyn, 43, were murdered.
Emergency personnel in Plymouth’s Keyham neighborhood react to the atrocity. (Photo courtesy of Getty)
According to the internet giant, rules on the platform ban inciting violence, which includes urging people to travel to a certain location to conduct violence or to commit violence at a specific time.
Google also said that it would cooperate with any police demands made in accordance with the law.
According to reports, Davison’s Reddit account was banned on August 11 for violating the site’s rules.
A public vigil for the victims of the horrific shooting is held at North Down Crescent Park. (Photo courtesy of PA)
‘We take these concerns extremely seriously,’ said a spokesman for the social network. ‘We’re still looking into it.’
Davison opened fire with a ‘pump action shotgun’ in the Keyham neighborhood of the city just after 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Among his victims were his mother and a three-year-old daughter. All of the victims have been identified and photographed.
A police officer shouted at passers-by to ‘get away please’ as footage of the incident seemed to show a person’s corpse laying on a pavement.
Additional Information: Social Media
The footage was widely circulated on social media, despite clear requests from local MPs and Devon and Cornwall Police not to do so.
Twitter claimed it had taken down a number of tweets about the assault that had “violated our rules, including our Sensitive Media policy,” according to the company.
Chief constable Shaun Sawyer of Devon and Cornwall Police revealed tonight that investigators are looking into Davison’s social media activity as part of their inquiry.
MORE: After revoking a Plymouth shooter’s gun license, police handed it back to him last month.
MORE: ‘After the mass shooting in Plymouth, we need to put a halt to US gun videos in the UK.’
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