8chan Owner Speaks Out After Extremist Site Blamed For Mass Shootings

The owner of extremist website 8chan has said those who blame it
for a recent spate of mass shootings are wrong.

The site is having trouble staying offline after it has been
banned by a wide range of companies who provide the internet
infrastructure that allows users to access it.

In recent days, after shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton,
Ohio, 8chan has been accused of helping to spread the ideas that
animated those behind the killings. In a number of incidents,
suspects have used the site to post manifestos and detailed their
reasons for carrying out the attacks.

Cybersecurity firm Cloudflare, which provided support to keep
the site online, said it was a “cesspool of hate” whose
“lawlessness has caused multiple tragic deaths”.

In a blog post in the wake of the two shootings in El Paso,
Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Cloudflare chief executive Matthew Prince
suggested the suspect in the El Paso attack had posted to 8chan
before commencing the attack.

8chan’s owner Jim Watkins has hit back in a video posted to
YouTube, claiming that the El Paso gunman posted on Instagram
before it appeared on his platform.

Statement from Jim Watkins, owner of 8chan,
regarding recent events:https://t.co/wNwTBEBtP4^[1]

— 8chan (8ch.net) (@infinitechan) August
6, 2019^[2]

“First of all, the El Paso shooter posted on Instagram, not
8chan,” he said.

“Later, someone uploaded a manifesto, however, that manifesto
was not uploaded by the Walmart shooter – I don’t know if he wrote
it or not, but it was not uploaded by the murderer.

“We have never protected illegal speech, as it seems, that we
have been accused of by some less-than-credible journalists, we
have responded with both vigour and integrity every single time
that a threat of violence has been posted and information on it has
been requested by law enforcement.”

Facebook said it disabled an Instagram account on Saturday
connected to the gunman that had not been active for over a year,
but responded to Mr Watkins, saying: “We have found nothing that
supports this theory.”

The words of Cloudflare’s boss have caused Mr Watkins
“tremendous damage”, he added, but he admitted they have the right
to terminate business as a private company.

“Contrary to the unfounded claim by Mr Prince of Cloudflare,
8chan is a lawful community, abiding by the laws of the United
States,” he continued.

8chan’s founder, Fredrick Brennan, who says he resigned from the
website in April 2016, has called for the site to be shut down,
suggesting that the current owners do not care about the issues
associated with it.

Writing on Twitter about 8chan, he said: “Finally this nightmare
might have an end.”

8chan was created in 2013 as an alternative to the 4chan forum
which had become popular with gamers.

It was launched in response to perceived increased moderation on
4chan and promised less intervention or removal of content.

Removal of Cloudflare’s services leaves 8chan open to
cyberattacks designed to disable the platform.

At present the site is inaccessible, though Cloudflare’s boss
believes that it is unlikely to remain permanently offline –
pointing to a previous incident where the firm cut off far-right
website The Daily Stormer, only for it to reappear online using a
“Cloudflare competitor”.

Mr Watkins said in the video that he was working to restore
8chan.

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NNPC Commends Military for Securing Nigeria’s Oil
Sector

The newly appointed Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kolo Kyari has
commended the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) for providing a more
secured environment for the organization to carry out its functions
in the petroleum industry.

The GMD gave the commendation during his courtesy visit to the
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in his office at the Defence
Headquarters (DHQ) Abuja.

In his remarks, the GMD noted that the visit was necessary
considering the important role the AFN has been playing in
curtailing the activities of pipeline vandals and saboteurs of the
nation’s key national economic infrastructures.

Mr Kyari further stated, that the AFN in carrying out its
constitutional mandate, has created the much needed safe
environment for NNPC to conduct petroleum operations for the
benefit of all Nigerians.

Responding, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel
Olonisakin congratulated the GMD on his appointment and assured him
of the readiness of the AFN to collaborate with the NNPC in
safeguarding Nigeria’s national economic infrastructures in the
area of oil and gas.

The CDS further assured the GMD that the AFN will sustain its
Operation AWATSE, which was launched to tackle the menace of
pipeline vandalism in South West Nigeria, amongst other criminal
activities, adding that the AFN will also intensify its ongoing
Operation DELTA SAFE in the South-South region of the country.

ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Colonel
Acting Director Defence Information