Warning: This story discusses the Christchurch terror attack
A clip from the Christchurch terrorist's banned mass murder video was uploaded to web forum Reddit on Wednesday night, and as of Thursday morning the US-based site hadn't removed it from the site's servers.
The shocking move comes as the Australian man behind the 51 deaths at two mosques last year is being sentenced at the High Court in Christchurch.
A 48-second segment of the clip was uploaded and shared twice. A moderator quickly removed the links, writing less than an hour later they had been "dealt with".
The video was hosted on Reddit's v.reddit domain, and is still accessible through archive services.
Just days after the atrocity, the Chief Censor declared the video - shot in a first-person view, like a videogame - objectionable. The same went for the killer's manifesto, which was uploaded to free-for-all website 8chan. Anyone found to be distributing either could face up to 14 years in prison or a $10,000 fine.
Reddit users were shocked.
"'It started playing and I took about 10 seconds to realise what it was. I reported so hopefully down now. Things you shouldn't have to see," said one person.
"The sounds of those poor people is not going to be something easily forgotten," said another.
"I saw the video on the day of the attack. I wish I hadn't. I'd blocked it out," added a third. "Thank f**k I didn't see this today but now I can see the video in my mind. Mods should be contacting the police. It's a serious crime."
Police told Newshub they were not aware of this particular upload.
"The footage from the March 15 attacks has been classified as objectionable material by the Chief Censor, and possessing and/or distributing it is a crime," a spokesperson said. "Anyone who finds it posted online is encouraged to record any details of the post and report it to police by phoning 105.
"If a member of the public comes across other content online that they think should be removed, in the first instance people should report it through the platform for review."
The killer pleaded guilty to the killings in March, and is expected to find out his sentence on Thursday.
Chief Censor David Shanks told Newshub no one in New Zealand wants to see the video, "particularly not at this time when sentencing of the terrorist is about to be concluded".
"I can only imagine that someone sympathetic to this killer has decided to post this material in order to cause more harm and misery."
"It appears that Reddit moderators took down this material in less than an hour, but if there is anything else that can be done by Reddit to ensure this does not recur then they should do it. I have raised these issues with the Department of Internal Affairs' Digital Safety Unit and I understand that they are following up on this."
He said anyone who wanted to report future uploads of the video should get in touch at censorship@dia.govt.nz.
Reddit uses Amazon's servers to host its material. Amazon doesn't have servers in New Zealand - the closest is Australia.
"Reddit's site-wide policies prohibit content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence," a spokesperson for the site told Newshub. "In accordance with this, the post in mention was removed and the user was banned."
Reddit later said the video had been removed.
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