3 thoughts on “Media Link: RNZ interview about the fight against on-line extremism two years after the March 15 Christchurch terrorist attacks.”

1. That was an excellent interview Pablo. It is very troubling and hugely disappointing to learn that there appears not to be the amount of online monitoring by our security services of the sites that the right wing extremists lurk. Full credit to those private citizens who have banded together or work alone to monitor these sites. They must have far stronger stomachs than I have. Perhaps there is a case for a contemporary, online version of the bounty hunter?

2. Di:

   I think that there may be practical explanations for the seeming gaps in NZ security agency scrutiny of social media for extremist content. Perhaps they are actually on the case but do not want to publicly reveal that fact and prefer to credit public tip offs as a means of diverting attention away from their operations. Perhaps they have other very serious issues on their plate, like major power signals and human espionage on and in NZ as well as cyber hacking of a criminal as well as economic, military-diplomatic nature. Perhaps if we think about the “threat probability roulette wheel,” then the actual chances of any extremist attack, much less another white supremacist attack even remotely comparable to March 15, is likely to be judged quite low in comparison to others. So given a finite amount of resources, the issue is how to distribute them across the threat landscape in ways that proportionally confront possible, probable and imminent threats. IMO those resources may simply being directed elsewhere under the cover of confronting “terrorist” threats.

   I would prefer a more honest public accounting of where those resources are directed (and why), but that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Which leaves many questions begging.

3. You make good points Pablo. That makes sense. Thank you.