Mass shooters are increasing in America: Online community is considering them as ‘Saints’; Algorithm that shows violent content leads to crime

The number of mass shooters is increasing in America and a new, dangerous trend is emerging behind it. Communities like ‘True Crime’ are spreading rapidly on the internet, which are worshiping these murderers like saints and Gods. This is not just a crime story, but a digital culture that is glorifying violence. Criminologists James Densley and Jillian Peterson, who have studied mass shootings for a decade, say attackers are now younger, deeply connected to the Internet and have come to consider violence as the meaning of life. The reason for this is the algorithm, which pushes users towards deep dark content from an early age. What starts as a funny post can lead to violence… and teens don’t even realize it. Experts say, ‘Earlier, mass shooters were generally seen as middle-aged men suffering from loneliness and crisis. But now the picture is changing. The new criminals are mostly young people, who are deeply connected to online networks. They believe that violence is the most ‘important’ thing in their life. Communities like True Crime exist on all social media platforms. Here the notorious attackers are called ‘Saints’, videos and fan art of them are made. Even if platforms remove such content, it soon comes back in a new form. At least 7 school shootings in America since 2024 have been linked to this community. This community turns private pain into a public display… ‘Look, others did the same and they are remembered.’ This way the criminals get a script in which their attack becomes the climax of the story. Researchers say, ‘For this, better counseling and control of weapons in schools is necessary. Tech companies have a big responsibility. Social platforms recognize trending sounds or images within moments. Similarly, they can flag content that glorifies violence, slow down the re-sharing of footage, and prevent violent content from re-emerging. Online communities glorify crime: Many communities like ‘True Crime’ present crime in an attractive form. In ‘Blood Likely’ people consider themselves detectives and discuss unsolved cases. ‘Unexplained Mysteries Forum’ connects paranormal incidents with crime and debates on mysterious cases. The Reddit True Crime subreddit is the most active place where serial killers and school shootings are discussed and fan culture is created. Whereas Uncovered especially focuses on cold cases and missing persons, where people come together to solve old cases.



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