White supremacists push Islamaphobic conspiracy theories about Notre Dame fire

[Flower Milk]

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...-media-n995091

As firefighters worked to contain the fire that ravaged the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday, Twitter and YouTube struggled to take down conspiracy theories being pushed by both anonymous accounts and verified white nationalists who spread Islamophobic theories about the disaster.

French officials investigating the fire have ruled out arson and terrorism, saying the fire that led to a roof collapse may have been tied to ongoing repairs at the cathedral.

Images and videos of the flaming cathedral spread quickly across social media and were quickly seized upon to push Islamophobic narratives that have flourished in far-right politics around the world in recent years. Those sentiments then made their way to more mainstream conservative pundits, who questioned whether the fire had been set on purpose.

Some anonymous users used editing software to push conspiracy theories on YouTube and Twitter, and their accounts remained active on the platforms -- despite repeated debunkings and reports on the platform. One video on YouTube, viewed 40,000 times, superimposes audio of a man yelling “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for "God is great") over a video of the Notre Dame fire. The audio comes from a years-old video, which is the first result when a user searches for “Allahu Akbar Scream” in Google. The video has not been removed from YouTube.

The account that posted the video, which features a white supremacist cartoon for an avatar, remains active.

That hoax video was then re-posted to Twitter, receiving almost 2,000 retweets and tens of thousands of views before being removed Monday night. The user’s account, however, remains active.

Sophie Bjork-James, an assistant professor of anthropology at Vanderbilt University who focuses on white nationalism, said the edited videos and talking points are part of a recruitment strategy but they “also fit into their ideology that the race war is happening.”

“They’re committed to getting more white people to white nationalism, and fanning the flames of Islamophobia is helpful,” she said.

Bjork-James said the onus is on social media companies to limit the use of their platforms as recruitment megaphones. She cited prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer’s tweet Monday that the fire could “spur the White man into action—to sieze (sic) power in his countries, in Europe, in the world.”

“Individual countries can pass laws limiting hate speech, but given the global nature of white nationalism today, and how it inspires violence, a lot of the responsibility falls on social media companies,” she said. “That’s especially true when so often they’re perpetuating lies, not just racism, that portray Muslims as celebrating the burning of the cathedral.”

White nationalist YouTube agitators including Stefan Molyneux and Faith Goldy, who are both verified on Twitter, pushed conspiracy theories about Muslims related to the fire that racked up tens of thousands of retweets. Goldy was banned by Facebook earlier this month in a purge of white nationalist accounts. Molyneux, who lives in Canada and had no first-hand information about the fire, implored the public not to trust any officials regarding a cause of the fire. Goldy and Molyneux’s tweets are still visible.

Molyneux’s talking point was later pushed by more mainstream parts of the conservative media ecosystem. Talk radio host Glenn Beck claimed on his show that “if this was started by Islamists, I don't think you'll find out about it” and compared the fire to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Twitter also declined to immediately take down some misinformation related to the fire, including a fake CNN account that claimed the fire was an act of terrorism, according to a CNN spokesperson. The account was later suspended.

While social media companies have taken a more active role in moderating their platforms, most have only recently attempted to crack down on certain types of hate speech, such as white nationalism and islamophobia.

Twitter and YouTube did not reply to requests for comment by press time.

Twitter released a report Tuesday detailing its efforts to remove hate speech. The company said that its automated system took down 38 percent of all abusive content from the platform before it reached public view. The company will soon update its rules “so they’re shorter, simpler and easier to understand,” it wrote in a blog post.

[Heran]

Islamophobia is such a ridiculous term to use in most cases. Most people who dislike Islam aren't irrational about it.

[Edge-]

Islamophobia is such a ridiculous term to use in most cases. Most people who dislike Islam aren't irrational about it.

I dunno, I'd call anyone instantly jumping to that conclusion that this was done by Muslims, despite all evidence thus far to the contrary, pretty irrational. It's extremely fitting.

[Heran]

I dunno, I'd call anyone instantly jumping to that conclusion that this was done by Muslims, despite all evidence thus far to the contrary, pretty irrational. It's extremely fitting.

The problem is that it is a too wide catch. Dislike Islam for legitimate reasons? Still islamophobia. Dislike for conspiracy theories? Still islamophobia. There's no difference between whether you dislike it for legitimate reasons or whether you do so for conspiracy theories.

[JohnBrown1917]

Islamophobia is such a ridiculous term to use in most cases. Most people who dislike Islam aren't irrational about it.

If you hate all muslims, that is pretty damn irrational.

[Shadowferal]

From the "other" thread:

On a related note: Fox News, Shep Smith shuts down French commentator suggesting Notre Dame fire wasn't an accident

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith abruptly cut off an interview on Monday with a French commentator floating conspiracy theories about the fire burning at Notre Dame. Smith's guest was French media analyst and former elected official Philippe Karsenty, who said the blaze burning at the Parisian landmark was "like a 9/11."

"It's like a 9/11. It's a French 9/11. It's a big shock," Karsenty said. "The church was there for more than 850 years. Even the Nazis didn't dare to destroy it."

"Sir, sir, sir, we're not going to speculate here of the cause of something which we don't know," Smith said. "If you have observations or you know something, we would love to hear it."

Karsenty said that he was warning viewers that they "need to be ready" before Smith cut his guest off again.

"No, sir, we're not doing that here, not now, not on my watch," Smith said before ending the interview with Karsenty.

[Heran]

If you hate all muslims, that is pretty damn irrational.

Sure, I agree with that but people who don't hate all muslims are labeled islamophobic as well.

[Has lost its way]

I imagine with everything france has been through in the years its a rather understandable stance to take. That said the truth will come out eventually about what caused it just like those horrifying torture videos from the last wide scale attack.

Nothing stays hidden these days though personally I suspect it was a accidental fire caused by maintenance.

[beanman12345]

Something is seriously wrong with people that they jump to conclusions before there is even an investigation.

[ati87]

Sure, I agree with that but people who don't hate all muslims are labeled islamophobic as well.

The fact that you have say some muslims is by itself islamophobic because you should dislike people for who they are and what they do instead of there ethinc background or religious background.

I mean do people dislike Russians because they are christian? No they dislike Russians for dozen or so reasons that has nothing to do with there religion or there ethinc background.

[Saucexorzski]

so...one can't even suggest the idea that a group of islamic extremists did this or one is racists...ain't that neat.

[Bodonius]

I do think this is a accident. But yes many leftists and muslims have posted smile faces about the fire and said that its a good thing, its just facts.

[Yetanothernewbie]

so...one can't even suggest the idea that a group of islamic extremists did this or one is racists...ain't that neat.

Any actual proof? No? Then let the investigators do the actual investigation before blaming the Muslims.

[Saucexorzski]

Any actual proof? No? Then let the investigators do the actual investigation before blaming the Muslims.

can the investigators keep an open mind about it or are they racists too is they believe it a possibility?

[Adam Jensen]

Did you not see our thread on it?

It wasn't even past the first page before people started blaming Islam.

Maybe it was an attack from Islamic extremists, maybe it was an accident, I for one would prefer to at least wait until the facts are in before drawing conclusions rather than blaming every catastrophe on our favorite boogiemen.

[Yetanothernewbie]

can the investigators keep an open mind about it or are they racists too is they believe it a possibility?

Seeing as no investigator has presented their findings as of yet, jumping to the conclusion that the muslims did it is bigotry. But your one of the biggest bad faith posters on this forum so what do you care.

[Saucexorzski]

Seeing as no investigator has presented their findings as of yet, jumping to the conclusion that the muslims did it is bigotry. But your one of the biggest bad faith posters on this forum so what do you care.

I'm only speculating, i'm not saying anyone did it. I find it pretty hilarious though that just speculating is racism...now. Also why do you find me to be a bad faith poster. i'm curious.

- - - Updated - - -

Did you not see our thread on it?

It wasn't even past the first page before people started blaming Islam.

Maybe it was an attack from Islamic extremists, maybe it was an accident, I for one would prefer to at least wait until the facts are in before drawing conclusions rather than blaming every catastrophe on our favorite boogiemen.

sure, personally i think it was an accident. But it irks me that folks are already claiming speculation or speculating to be racism. Fuck off with that bullshit thank you!

[Heran]

The fact that you have say some muslims is by itself islamophobic because you should dislike people for who they are and what they do instead of there ethinc background or religious background.

I'm not really going to take a gamble with my well-being by treating them as only individuals outside of my own family.

[DKjaigen]

If you hate all muslims, that is pretty damn irrational.

why not?

Islam pisses on gay rights
Islam pisses on women rights
Islam pisses on secular law
Islam pisses scientific progress
Islam pisses on western democracy
Ìslam pisses on western humanism in general

Every reason i hate this medieval way of live is absolutely justified.

[Moralgy]

Islamophobia is such a ridiculous term to use in most cases. Most people who dislike Islam aren't irrational about it.

I am really not surprised this is the first post this thread got on gen ot. We cant discuss how crazy these people are around here, we have to instantly divert attention to something else.

- - - Updated - - -

Did you not see our thread on it?

It wasn't even past the first page before people started blaming Islam.

Maybe it was an attack from Islamic extremists, maybe it was an accident, I for one would prefer to at least wait until the facts are in before drawing conclusions rather than blaming every catastrophe on our favorite boogiemen.

This, jumping to conclusion that it was muslims before any evidence what so ever says it was is bullshit.