Twitter Failed To Detect Newly Uploaded Footage Of Christchurch Mass Shooting — Until New Zealand Alerted Platform

The New Zealand government said it had to alert Twitter after freshly uploaded footage of the Christchurch terror attack began circulating on the platform. 

What Happened: The Elon Musk-led platform failed to recognize the content of mass shooting — that occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch — as harmful, the government said, reported The Guardian.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern‘s office said the videos, shot by the Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in 2019, were uploaded on the platform by some users over the weekend. And Twitter's automated reporting function didn't pick up the content as harmful, the spokesperson for Ardern added. 

"Twitter advised us overnight that the clips have been taken down and said they would do a sweep for other instances."

The skeptical PM Arden said that while "time will tell" over Twitter's commitment to removing harmful content, the platform under Musk's leadership has advised the government that it remains committed to its membership to the Christchurch Call community.

This came almost a month after Arden told Musk that "if misused," Twitter can do a huge amount of harm. “While I haven’t had any opportunity to engage directly with Mr. Musk, I think the point I would make here is that social media and platforms like Twitter have a huge responsibility,” she said. 

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