Dutch town takes Twitter to court over pedophile conspiracy theory

Flowers left in the cemetery. Photo: Welly Clone ANP

The Dutch town of Bodegraben has taken social media platform Twitter to court in an attempt to end the spread of rumors about satanic rituals and pedophilia.

The case, which was heard by a judge in The Hague on Friday, focuses on stories that have been circulated by conspiracy theorists since 2020 about a satanic pedophile network and the ritual murder of children in town. increase.

Three men were jailed in June and sentenced to community service in connection with the claims. One of them, Joost Knevel, who grew up in Bodegraben, started rumors of a pedophile group in town in the 1980s. His story was embraced by others who spread their theories online using various channels.

At one point they spread rumors that RIVM chief Jaap van Dissel was head of the group and that he should be given permanent security.

The men also spread online items calling for the execution and court of the “sadped elite”, leading other conspiracy theorists to visit the town’s cemetery and lay flowers on the graves of children who died there.

The three were ordered to pay €215,000 in damages to local authorities after being barred from the cemetery and forced to exercise emergency powers to ensure permanent safety.

prevention

Twitter has since suspended the accounts of those involved, but local authorities claim it wasn’t enough to remove articles about the Satanic cult that are still in circulation.

A lawyer for the council told the court on Friday that the platform was lax in its approach and made a lot of money behind its claims, local broadcaster said. Omrope West report.

A lawyer for Twitter said the company I did everything I could to remove the conspiracy theorist story. But requiring Twitter itself to review every post before it goes live is going too far, he said.

The court will deliver its verdict on October 4th.

A fourth man, Micha Kats, who is involved in popularizing the theory, was arrested in Northern Ireland last year and has been arrested since. handed over to the Netherlands face other sins.

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https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/09/dutch-town-takes-twitter-to-court-over-paedophile-conspiracy-theories/ Dutch town takes Twitter to court over pedophile conspiracy theory

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