"On Thursday, a video popped up on my X feed, displaying the very moment that political activist Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck as he sat on a stool onstage at a college campus, talking with students and observers. There was no warning, no prompt before the video started playing-only an instant replay of the exact moment of gory violence that would immediately make waves around the country and the world."
"I wasn't alone. During class or in the school hallways, teens watched various versions of the videos of Kirk's killing that circulated online, sometimes in slow motion. Andrew Apsley, an English teacher in Utah, said a video was sent to his 19-year-old child, who has autism and has difficulty processing emotions. It was "pretty traumatic," he told the Associated Press."
"Over the last few weeks-as we have witnessed the tragic killing of Kirk, in close succession to the horrific videos and images of the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte that also went viral-it has felt like I've been forced to repeatedly bear witness to graphic and violent content in the exact moments when I am least emotionally prepared to do so. And it's sobering to realize that this phenomenon is related, in part, to the business decisions of big social-media companies."
A sudden, unprompted video showed political activist Charlie Kirk being shot in the neck onstage, replaying the moment of gory violence and causing immediate shock and distraction. Teens viewed various versions of the killing in classrooms and hallways, and a teacher reported his 19-year-old autistic child receiving the video and experiencing trauma. The stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska also circulated in viral form. The repeated, unexpected exposure to graphic imagery has caused emotional harm. Social-media companies have scaled back moderation and are enforcing content rules less effectively amid rising political tensions and violence.
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