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The case began last April in a suburb of Sydney, when Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was violently attacked with a knife in a church by a teenager. The video of this attack quickly spread on social networks, triggering a wave of concern among digital regulators. A few months later, this same sequence became the trigger for a catastrophic tragedy that could have been avoided.
How an X-rated video preceded a tragic triple murder
The chronology of events is chilling. On July 29 in Southport, Axel Rudakubana, 18, performs a specific search on X : ” mar mari emmanuel stabbing ” ( “stabbing” means “ to stab). Six minutes later, he leaves his home to commit the irreparable. His target: a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. The toll is tragic: three young girls murdered (Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7 years old, Bebe King, 6 years old, and Alice da Silva, 9 years old) and a dozen injured.
The investigation reveals that on his Lenovo tablet, the entire browsing history was erased, with the exception of this single search. It led directly to this vile video of the Sydney attack, still available on X despite repeated warnings from the authorities.
X and Elon Musk accused of passivity
Faced with this situation, the reaction of the tech giants diverges radically. Google, Microsoft, Snap, and TikTok immediately removed the video from their platforms. They even implemented preventative measures to prevent any re-broadcast of the content in question.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000X, on the other hand, opts for a minimalist solution: a simple geoblock in Australia. How to bypass a geoblock? Well, for Australians, all you need to do is use a VPN, while for the rest of the world, the video is still accessible at the time of writing. A video that we strongly advise you not to watch, of course.
Unsurprisingly, Musk's position on the affair has only made the controversy worse. The billionaire is already known for his questionable statements, his divisive speeches and, more recently, his very borderline behavior; and reacting in the same way as others has never been his cup of tea.
Instead of ordering the removal of the video implicated in this tragedy, he posted inflammatory messages on his X account, accusing the British Prime Minister of “privileging mosques over British girls in their dance classes “. What should we conclude from this?? That it is much easier for him to make irrelevant political accusations than to explain the role of X, even indirect, in the savage murder of these innocent women ?
That he is ignoring the situation by fueling the social tensions that shook Australia all last summer following the attack on the bishop ? Or is this yet another publicity stunt to prove his role as leader outsider ?
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper took to the House of Commons to say: ” Companies should not profit from content that endangers the lives of children”. A sentence so obvious that it says a lot about the times we are living in: that of regulatory failure, where companies put their financial interests before the well-being of the collective. For his part, Axel Rudakubana has just pleaded guilty to the murder he committed, and was sentenced to 52 years in prison four days ago.
- A violent video, still available on a major platform, inspired a tragic crime in Australia.
- Unlike other companies, X chose to leave it online.
- Musk escalated the controversy with provocative statements and refused to act, with the video still available.
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