'White Genocide' Paranoia Could Prompt More Shootings: Study

PITTSBURGH, PA - Online similarities between the accused Tree of Life synagogue and Christchurch mosques shooters indicate another mass hate-related killing could occur at any time, a new study suggests.

A report released Tuesday by the Network Contagion Research and the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism noted nearly identical online parallels between Robert Bowers, charged in the Tree of Life massacre, and alleged Christchurch killer Brenton Tarrant.

“Both killers announced in their preferred internet forums that they were about to commit violence and seemed to identify their fellow forum participants as community members who might share their propensity to commit violence,” the study stated. “Both killers were consumed by the conspiracy of a ‘white genocide.’ Both Gab and 8chan – the go-to forums for Robert Bowers and Brenton Tarrant, respectfully – are rife with white supremacist, hateful, anti-Semitic bigotry.”

Bowers is charged with killing 11 Tree of Life worshippers last October in the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. Tarrant last month slaughtered 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and used Bowers as an inspiration for the killings.

The study’s research explored how each killer identified with his online community, with a degree of adherence comparable to ISIS followers, and illustrated that same language is used constantly on both platforms. That led researchers to conclude that the next Bowers or Tarrant could emerge at any moment.

According to the study, Gab and 8chan users bring violent, hateful ideology into comments about supposed white genocide and similar themes by cloaking them in terms and references they know will only be understood within their communities. They depict Jews as murderous, all-powerful actors who seek to “racemix” white people out of existence. They depict Muslims and people of color as mindless enemy invaders threatening to replace white people and hasten the destruction of Western civilization.

Researchers believe the evidence suggests that such platforms can serve to spread modern terror in ways that could not have been predicted from the early days of social media.

“Gab and 8chan fan the flames of bigotry and hatred and organize violent fantasies in online communities even as they fuel them in the real world,” the study noted.

“There is no telling who else on Gab or 8chan may take cues from Bowers and Tarrant and act on the violent ideologies they derive from these online communities. In essence, these platforms serve as round-the-clock white supremacist rallies, amplifying and fulfilling their vitriolic fantasies.”