Kyle Rittenhouse: YouTube struggles with hero worship

“We’re gonna run what I call a Kyle drill.”

A man wearing sunglasses and carrying an assault rifle talks his way through a training circuit he’s built at a gun range, showcased in a YouTube video.

The course lets participants recreate the moment Kyle Rittenhouse shot three protesters in Kenosha earlier this year, killing two of them.

“This is the simulated mob,” the man says.

“You’re going to sit down and take a shot at the skater. I don’t know how many shots Kyle took, but Kyle’s a badass. So we’re going to assume one shot, one kill.”

Kyle Rittenhouse: YouTube struggles with hero worship https://t.co/vRiD3XB2Ik

— BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) December 21, 2020

The skater he is referring to is Anthony Huber. He was shot in the heart and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, turned up at a protest in Kenosha after Jacob Blake was killed by police.

He was carrying an assault rifle and said he was there to protect property, claiming he acted in self-defence when opening fire. He is awaiting trial for double murder.

This piece isn’t about the mass shooting itself, rather what it tells us about YouTube and its policies on extremism.

The Kyle Drill video is just one of dozens of disturbing uploads we found on YouTube venerating Rittenhouse.

Other social media companies like Facebook have tight rules on what you can and can’t say or show about Rittenhouse. Facebook, for example, has banned his name from being searched for.

On YouTube though, there are no such rules.