Valve has removed more than 100 tributes to the New Zealand attack shooting suspect.
50 people died and a further 50 were wounded following two shootings at mosques in New Zealand.
Both the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch and the Linwood Islamic Centre were targeted, and the gunman reportedly livestreamed from a helmet camera for 17 minutes as he entered a mosque and shot worshippers.
However, just days after the attack Kotaku found that there were many tributes to the suspect, over 100. They added that “hundreds of pages continue to nod towards past mass shooters including perpetrators of massacres in Charleston, Isla Vista and Parkland and of the 2011 mass killing in Norway.”
YouTube star PewDiePie, who’s currently synonymous with the phrase “Subscribe to PewDiePie” and one of the most watched personalities on the platform, unwillingly became embroiled in the attack after one of the shooters uttered the words before the shooting unfolded.
The YouTuber issued a statement on Twitter after learning that his name was used during the attacks, saying that he was “sickened” and that his “heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch.
I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person.
My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.— ƿ૯ωძɿ૯ƿɿ૯ (@pewdiepie) March 15, 2019
New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, issued a statement saying: “We have undoubtedly experienced an attack today that is unprecedented, unlike anything that we have experienced before.
“But, as I say, New Zealand has been chosen because we are not a place where violent extremism exists.
“We reject those notions and we must continue to reject them. This is not an enclave for that kind of behaviour, for that kind of ideology.
“We will and must reject it. This is a place where people should feel secure and will feel secure.
“I am not going to let this change New Zealand’s profile, none of us should.”
Police said a man who claimed responsibility for the attacks left a 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto in which he explained who he was and his reasoning for his actions.
Police have also found improvised explosives in cars and have carried out a controlled explosion at New Zealand’s largest train station, the Britomart Transport Centre.