Republican House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer on Wednesday asked the CEOs of Discord, Steam, Twitch and Reddit to testify on the “radicalization of online forum users” at an October hearing.
The Committee hearing will focus on the topic of “online radicalization,” such as “instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts,” according to a press release. The news comes after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University.
“The politically motivated assassination of Charlie Kirk claimed the life of a husband, father, and American patriot,” Comer said in a statement. “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. 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.” (RELATED: Watch the Daily Caller’s documentary “Groomed”)
“We have received the Committee’s invitation and welcome the opportunity to testify,” a Discord spokesperson said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We continuously engage with policymakers on these critical issues and look forward to continuing this important dialogue next month.”
Steam and Reddit did not respond to requests for comment. Twitch could not be reached for comment.
President Donald Trump told the Daily Caller on Monday that he believes Kirk’s alleged killer had been “radicalized on the internet” and was left-leaning. Additionally, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was charged with assassinating Kirk, allegedly told his transgender boyfriend he had been engraving bullets — which were later discovered by authorities — with left-wing messages such as “hey fascist! CATCH!”
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) deputy director Dan Bongino said on Monday that “there appeared to be multiple warning signs” that some people in Robinson’s “network” were aware of his plans to murder Kirk. Bongino added that some of Robinson’s family members said he had recently “become more political,” which led the FBI to believe that “this ideology had infected him and it had taken over.”
“There appeared to be multiple warning signs,” Bongino said. “There were people in [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.”
Moreover, there have been a variety of recent reports that some people have taken to social media to celebrate Kirk’s assassination. Several users were allegedly fired from their jobs over their social media posts.
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