Why guns are not a platform problem
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Tonight, in the aftermath of yet more mass shootings, the internet is once again a swirl of threads. Debates about gun control, white supremacy, domestic terrorism, video games, mental illness, de-platforming, content moderation, and regulation all rage simultaneously on cable news, in print, and on Twitter. The mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton — like so many mass shootings before them — overwhelm us in their horror. But we owe a debt to the victims to sort through it as best as we can, and to find a way forward.
Around here we’re primarily interested in the relationship between tech platforms and our democracy. And yet while much attention has focused on the role that 8chan and other hate sites played in fomenting these attacks, the…
