Hi there,

The media can be the greatest force for peace on Earth. Instead, all too often, it’s wielded as a weapon of war. That's why we have to take the media back. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be DOUBLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $30. With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

U.S. Won’t Join “Christchurch Call” Against Online Extremism

HeadlineMay 16, 2019

In Paris, the leaders of France and New Zealand on Wednesday unveiled an agreement to combat online extremism. The so-called Christchurch Call is named after the New Zealand city where, in March, a white nationalist gunman killed 51 worshipers at two mosques—and live-streamed the massacre on Facebook. This is New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: “The social media dimension to the attack was unprecedented. And our response today, with the adoption of the Christchurch Call, is equally unprecedented, as well. Never before have countries and tech companies come together in the wake of an horrific attack to commit to an action plan that will deliver, collaboratively, work in new technology built to make our communities ultimately safer.”

So far, the Christchurch Call has the support of 16 countries, the European Commission and eight tech giants. But the Trump administration said Wednesday it was “not currently in a position to join the endorsement.” The White House cited concerns the agreement could violate the First Amendment. In a New York Times opinion piece last weekend, Prime Minister Ardern wrote she supports free speech rights but “that right does not include the freedom to broadcast mass murder.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top