Buffalo Shooter Was Inspired By 4chan Posts, Sparking Discussion About Memes And Online Radicalization

The mass shooter who murdered 10 people at a mall in Buffalo, New York this weekend in a racially motivated terrorist attack was apparently radicalized by “memes and shitposts,” according to his manifesto that was shared online.

The Buffalo shooter says in his manifesto he learned from memes on 4chan that white people were dying off quicker than Blacks, and that the average Black person takes $700,000 in money from government handouts. He believed whites are victims of genocide and “Jews” are behind it

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) May 14, 2022

According to the 180-page manifesto released by the killer, the 18-year-old was a frequent user of 4chan’s /pol/ and termed himself a “fascist,” “anti-semite” and proponent of the "great replacement" conspiracy theory. He was inspired by footage of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque Shooting, which was livestreamed on Twitch. The shooter streamed a video of his own attack on Twitch that, despite being taken down from the platform, has since spread across social media and the internet.

According to his manifesto, Payton Gendron says his radicalization started in 2020 with the discovery of 4chan, and was solidified by videos of the New Zealand mosque shooter. 2 years. 2 years is all it took to shape the mind of a then 16 years old.

— Smirking Wombat (@SmirkingWombat) May 14, 2022

Commentators on social media expressed grief and anger at the spread of white nationalism in online communities.

So maddening to have watched white nationalism spread from Stormfront to 4chan to YouTube to Steve Bannon to Tucker Carlson to the manifestos of multiple mass murderers--and not taken seriously because “they’re not wearing white robes.” But a better camouflaged KKK is all it is

— Natalie Wynn (@ContraPoints) May 16, 2022

Others criticized the culture and structure of unmoderated online communities where young people become radicalized, countering those who insist that posts on platforms like 4chan do not have real-world consequences.

this is precisely why those “dark humor” jokes u all insist are “just jokes” do not move me. memes and 4chan incels moved a man to murder people. anti-blackness will never be funny. no matter how it’s packaged. https://t.co/pqb7HYV0Sh

— EZRA DAY (@camgirlgore) May 15, 2022

Also the guy was radicalized by racist nazi memes and infographics on 4chan so I also don’t want to hear “it’s not that deep” or “people can’t take a joke these days” because it absolutely is that deep. It’s literally so sinister how this stuff creeps in. https://t.co/0BEOQNaKnZ

— 🌻🌻🌻 (@hapademonpunk) May 15, 2022

The news that the shooter was inspired by memes also led some to reflect on aspects of mainstream meme culture and meme formats that come from 4chan and forums like it.

but yeah that “chan” culture never really left western anime communities, hell, it never even left GENERAL internet communities to begin with. memes we use today are hand me downs from fucking 4chan and nobody realizes it because they’re so far removed from their context pic.twitter.com/InkgY7fq4y

— demon boyfriend kio (@kzzrttt) May 15, 2022

- yes chad / nordic gamer meme:

a subformat of the mediterrenean 4chan meme. it's a white supremacist symbol which emphasizes blondness, white skin and blue eyes as being superior.

usually paired with tradwife. pic.twitter.com/8EiFSbYQkK

— leila 🏳️‍⚧️ READ PINNED (@xtessafairy) May 15, 2022

On the opposite side, others defended 4chan from its critics, though some faced backlash for their stance.

i think i just have to accept that for most people hearing ‘4chan did it’ is explanation enough of anything being real. its like the internet’s boogieman catch-all and i hate it pic.twitter.com/RHUUMkYZCB

— zaptie 🦃 (@zaptiee) May 10, 2022

oh good were at the "umm actually outside /pol/ 4chan is just wholesome autism and memes and le fishe" stage of discussion again

— Cruel Math Graves (@mothtower) May 16, 2022

As internet extremism researcher Joshua Citarella, who specializes in studying teenagers radicalized by internet memes, said to Meme Insider in the June issue’s upcoming interview, “Posting does matter, posting wields influence. And for some reason that has a lot of people very upset. I think they don’t like the possibility that they're posting what they feel is transgressive and gives them a sense of autonomy and freedom in a world where there is increasingly little freedom and autonomy … could have been instrumentalized by any actor.”

The discussion about violent memes combined with the ongoing conversation spurred by Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. People online wondered about the kind of influence posting wields, and how to deal with it. The difficult task of balancing free speech concerns with the need to counter online violence and hate is rapidly becoming one of the most prominent policy and cultural questions of the internet in 2022.

Here is a prime example. Memes on 4chan. Then the media want to echo Elon Musk and give credence to his claim about “free speech” on Twitter. Elon Musk takeover and implementation of his idea of free speech would breed more white supremacist domestic terrorist. https://t.co/KfYgnQmAFt

— AJ Nutter (@L82twatmytweet) May 15, 2022