House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) asked the CEOs of Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit to testify on the “radicalization of online forum users” amid the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death.
The hearing will focus on “instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts,” a press release from the committee explains.
“The politically motivated assassination of Charlie Kirk claimed the life of a husband, father, and American patriot. In the wake of this tragedy, and amid other acts of politically motivated violence, Congress has a duty to oversee the online platforms that radicals have used to advance political violence,” Comer said in a statement. “To prevent future radicalization and violence, the CEOs of Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit must appear before the Oversight Committee and explain what actions they will take to ensure their platforms are not exploited for nefarious purposes.”
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on Monday regarding the investigation into Kirk’s alleged assassin, “There appeared to be multiple warning signs.”
“There were people in [Tyler Robinson’s] network, friends and family, who had stated that he had become more political … I believe some of his co-workers had stated that he had kinda detached himself when the topic of politics came up and walked away from them. Family members said he’d become more political, leading us to believe that this ideology had infected him and it had taken over and he was just intent, it appears, from the day that we accumulated and the channel and that note — which we have some evidence may have existed based on the communications in that channel — that his target was obviously going to be Charlie and that people knew in advance.”
Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the case, reportedly posted to Discord after the assassination, writing, “Hey guys, I have bad news for you all… It was me at UVU yesterday… I’m sorry for all of this.”
