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Cybersecurity provider Cloudflare dropped support for the website in the wake of two mass shootings in the US.
The owner of far-right internet forum 8chan has refuted accusations that the platform is “lawless”, after the firm providing cybersecurity protection to the site dropped its support.
Cloudflare decided to stop serving the forum for being a “cesspool of hate”, claiming that its “lawlessness has caused multiple tragic deaths”.
The website has repeatedly been used by suspects in mass shootings to spread their ‘manifestos’ and reasons for carrying out such attacks, and has often hosted far-right messaging and imagery due to its known stance of being neutral about moderating content.
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.
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 Watkins, saying: “We have found nothing that supports this theory.”
“First of all, the El Paso shooter posted on Instagram, not 8chan,” Watkins 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.”
The words of Cloudflare’s boss have caused Watkins “tremendous damage”, he added, but he admitted it has 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,” Watkins continued.
Alternative forum
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.
8chan was created in 2013 as an alternative to the 4chan forum that 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.
The site is currently 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.
— PA Media
