Social media platforms begin removing Plymouth gunman’s accounts
13 August 2021, 21:04
Jake Davison shot and killed five people on Thursday, and then turned his gun on himself.
Social networks have begun removing Plymouth gunman Jake Davison’s accounts from their platforms in the aftermath of the attack.
The 22-year-old was active across Facebook, Reddit and YouTube, where he uploaded a video a few weeks ago saying he was “beaten down” and “defeated by life”.
Both his YouTube and Facebook accounts were removed by about lunchtime on Friday, and a Reddit account believed to belong to Davison could not be accessed on Friday evening.
Google-owned YouTube confirmed to the PA news agency that Davison’s account had been terminated under its offline behaviour policy.
Rules on the platform prohibit inciting violence, including encouraging others to go to a particular place to commit violence or to perform violence at a particular time, the firm said.
Google also told PA that it will comply with any police requests made through proper legal processes.
Meanwhile Facebook, which also owns Instagram, confirmed it too has removed Davison’s accounts.
The social network said he was removed under its dangerous individuals and organisations policy, which does not allow mass murderers on either platform.
It is understood the Reddit account thought to belong to Davison was suspended for the user on August 11 due to a violation of Reddit’s policies.
A Reddit spokesman said: “We take these matters very seriously. Our investigation is ongoing.”
Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer of Devon and Cornwall Police has confirmed that detectives are examining Davison’s social media output as part of their investigation.
Twitter confirmed it had removed a number of tweets related to the attack which it said had “violated our rules, including our sensitive media policy”, after photos and videos appearing to show the aftermath of the shootings were posted online.
The company said a curated Twitter moment was also created to help users find the latest authoritative information as the situation developed.
