YouTube, Reddit Sued for Pushing ‘Harmful’ Content on NY Gunman

YouTube, Google, and Reddit are being sued for promoting “extreme and harmful” content that allegedly pushed a gunman to kill 10 people and injure three more in a mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, last year.

The companies are named in two separate but related lawsuits asking the New York Supreme Court in Erie County to require YouTube and Reddit to fix the algorithms that push out harmful content.

The complaints were filed by Everytown Law on behalf of the victims of the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market in May 2022.

The lawsuits also name Georgia arms company MEAN LLC, which is being sued by New York state for making a gun lock that was too easily removed by the shooter. Bypassing the lock allowed the shooter to replace his legal 10-round magazines with illegal 30-round ones, turning his rifle into an illegal assault weapon.

The shooter used YouTube, Reddit, and other online sources to learn how to equip himself with military-grade weapons and remove the MEAN Arms magazine lock from the gun. He also purchased body armor from tactical gear provider RMA Armament Inc. after allegedly engaging directly with company representatives through Reddit.

Algorithms that YouTube and Reddit employ to learn user preferences and push out similar content helped radicalize the shooter and indoctrinate him into a racist online community, the lawsuit alleges.

He viewed hundreds of YouTube videos promoting racism, antisemitism, and racial violence, the lawsuit says. The video site’s algorithm continued to push that content to him through its algorithm, which relies on artificial intelligence program Google Brain.

The social media sites helped facilitate and enable the Shooter to commit the massacre in May 2022, the complaints say.

YouTube throughout the years has invested in technology to identify and remove extremist content, and it regularly works with law enforcement to share intelligence and best practices, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg Law in response to the lawsuit.

Reddit didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

The plaintiffs are represented by Everytown Law, the Law Offices of Bonner & Bonner, and Ryder Law Firm.

Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Law is operated by entities controlled by Michael Bloomberg.

The cases are Jones v. MEAN LLC, N.Y. Sup. Ct., Complaint 8/15/23 and Stanfield v. MEAN LLC, N.Y. Sup. Ct., Complaint 8/15/23.