{"id":"1792711873769-viral-segment","slug":"germany-moves-to-block-gore-site","title":"Germany moves to block gore site","summary":"Germany has not enacted a nationwide ban on WatchPeopleDie. In October 2026, the Bavarian regulatory authority (BLM) issued a blocking order, and the NRW media authority issued its own general orders requiring access providers to block watchpeopledie.tv (and similar domains) via DNS, with implementation due by 16 November 2026. The site is not a \"professional\" snuff film site and has no official companion app; it is a gore forum with over 5.5 million registered users. This is a promotional/crypto shill post pushing a low-cap meme coin and a Telegram group; no factual claim is being made.","publishedAt":"2026-10-22T23:31:13.769Z","channel":{"id":"viral","name":"Oncast Viral","language":"en"},"show":"Main Character","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"MISLEADING","notes":"MISLEADING: Germany has not enacted a nationwide ban on WatchPeopleDie. In October 2026, the Bavarian regulatory authority (BLM) issued a blocking order, and the NRW media authority issued its own general orders requiring access providers to block watchpeopledie.tv (and similar domains) via DNS, with implementation due by 16 November 2026. The site is not a \"professional\" snuff film site and has no official companion app; it is a gore forum with over 5.5 million registered users. This is a promotional/crypto shill post pushing a low-cap meme coin and a Telegram group; no factual claim is being made.\nSource: [medienanstalt-nrw.de](https://www.medienanstalt-nrw.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilungen-2026/2026/oktober/allgemeinverfuegungen-gegen-access-provid (https://x.com/JakeFitzsimons_/status/2113411662229221601)","claims":[{"verdict":"MISLEADING","summary":"Germany has not enacted a nationwide ban on WatchPeopleDie. In October 2026, the Bavarian regulatory authority (BLM) issued a blocking order, and the NRW media authority issued its own general orders requiring access providers to block watchpeopledie.tv (and similar domains) via DNS, with implementation due by 16 November 2026. The site is not a \"professional\" snuff film site and has no official companion app; it is a gore forum with over 5.5 million registered users. This is a promotional/crypto shill post pushing a low-cap meme coin and a Telegram group; no factual claim is being made.","sourceName":"[medienanstalt-nrw.de](https://www.medienanstalt-nrw.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilungen-2026/2026/oktober/allgemeinverfuegungen-gegen-access-provid","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/JakeFitzsimons_/status/2113411662229221601","claim":"The German government today enacted a nationwide ban on access to to WatchPeopleDie, among the most popular and professional ran gore/snuff film websites with its own companion app. I can attest to its very high quality UI. This perhaps has to due with Manuel Otto, German","author":"Jake Fitzsimons (@JakeFitzsimons_)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/JakeFitzsimons_/status/2113411662229221601","name":"[medienanstalt-nrw.de](https://www.medienanstalt-nrw.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilungen-2026/2026/oktober/allgemeinverfuegungen-gegen-access-provid","kind":"x","verdict":"MISLEADING","author":"Jake Fitzsimons (@JakeFitzsimons_)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1792711873769-viral-segment-germany-moves-to-block-gore-site","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/viral","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1792711873769-viral-segment-germany-moves-to-block-gore-site","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1792711873769-viral-segment-germany-moves-to-block-gore-site and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Nora","text":"Every time you think the internet can't get darker, it finds a new basement."},{"host":"Jake","text":"And what fresh basement is this?"},{"host":"Nora","text":"A post claiming Germany just banned WatchPeopleDie — the gore site — nationwide."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Wait, that site still exists?"},{"host":"Nora","text":"Oh, it exists. Over five and a half million registered users, if you can believe that."},{"host":"Jake","text":"That's... a lot of people watching the worst possible thing."},{"host":"Nora","text":"But here's what actually happened: it wasn't the German government, and it wasn't nationwide. Two state regulators — Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia — told internet providers to block it. Deadline's mid-November."},{"host":"Jake","text":"So a regional block, not a federal ban."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Exactly. And the post called it a 'professional snuff film site with its own companion app.'"},{"host":"Jake","text":"The companion app detail feels like a weird flex. Like the guy's reviewing the UI of a horror show."},{"host":"Nora","text":"He literally says he can attest to its 'very high quality UI.' That's the line that stuck with me."},{"host":"Jake","text":"That's not a review you want on your résumé."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Right? Which brings me to the actual point: why are regulators finally moving?"},{"host":"Jake","text":"Because a gore forum with millions of users isn't just a dark corner. It's a pipeline for the worst content."},{"host":"Nora","text":"According to the ADL, this specific site has been flagged for years. This isn't new pressure."},{"host":"Jake","text":"So the block order is catching up, finally. The post got the who and the how wrong, but the what is real."},{"host":"Nora","text":"And there's something else worth saying: a block is a DNS order. It's not police kicking down doors."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Which means anyone with a VPN is still watching. The block is theater."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Theater? You think it does nothing?"},{"host":"Jake","text":"I think it's a speed bump, not a wall. The people who want this will find it."},{"host":"Nora","text":"But you don't think making it harder matters? Most people aren't going to jump through hoops."},{"host":"Jake","text":"It's not about hoops. It's about pretending you've solved a problem by hiding it from your own DNS."},{"host":"Nora","text":"I'm not pretending that. I'm saying the site's main audience isn't VPN-savvy. It's stumbling onto it."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Then the real fix is platform moderation, not making a domain harder to reach. Go after the host, not the road."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Both can be true. A block and pressure on the host."},{"host":"Jake","text":"You sound like a very reasonable regulator."},{"host":"Nora","text":"I sound like someone who's seen the numbers. And five and a half million users isn't a secret club."},{"host":"Jake","text":"No, it's a very public sewer with a good UI, apparently."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Can we go back to the part where he praised the interface? That's my whole night, honestly."},{"host":"Jake","text":"It's deeply unsettling. Like rating a torture chamber on Yelp."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Anyway, that's the story: regional regulators in Germany moved, a misleading post made it sound bigger, but the underlying site is genuinely awful."},{"host":"Jake","text":"And the awful part isn't a debate. That's just fact."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Different corner of the internet entirely: Drawfee announced they took classic horror monsters and made them wholesome."},{"host":"Jake","text":"A Frankenstein you'd want to hug? I'm listening."},{"host":"Nora","text":"The video's for people scared of spooky movies, apparently. They're leaning fully into the cozy-horror trend."},{"host":"Jake","text":"That's smart. The algorithm loves a genre flip. Also, I'm curious what Dracula looks like as a dog."},{"host":"Nora","text":"A golden retriever with a cape, probably. But here's the thing — this trend of softening horror isn't new."},{"host":"Jake","text":"It's reaction content. We had years of torture porn, now the pendulum swings to comfort horror."},{"host":"Nora","text":"And that's better? Turning monsters into plushies?"},{"host":"Jake","text":"It's fine. Not everything has to be a psychological deep dive. Sometimes you just want a cute Mummy."},{"host":"Nora","text":"I'm not saying it has to be deep. I'm saying horror works because it's scary. You take that away, it's just... Halloween aesthetic."},{"host":"Jake","text":"There's room for both. That's the whole point of a niche internet."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Fine, but if Frankenstein starts doing ASMR, I'm out."},{"host":"Jake","text":"You'll be the first subscriber and we both know it."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Speaking of wholesome: a guy on Bluesky posted about a man who learned to swim as an adult and tweeted the whole journey."},{"host":"Jake","text":"I remember that era of Twitter. It was actually nice. Thousands of strangers cheering on a grown man in a pool."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Samuel Mehr — that's the poster — calls it 'very wholesome and good' and honestly, he's right."},{"host":"Jake","text":"It was one of those rare moments where the internet decided to be decent. No dunking, no side-eyeing."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Which is remarkable, because a grown man admitting he can't swim could easily become a joke."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Instead it became a whole narrative. People checking in, asking for updates. It was a little community."},{"host":"Nora","text":"You don't get that on the algorithm-driven feed anymore. It's all rage and insularity."},{"host":"Jake","text":"But that's also nostalgia talking. People post hopeful things every day; we just don't see them because the algorithm buries them."},{"host":"Nora","text":"So you're saying it's still there, just harder to find."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Always has been. The good internet didn't vanish. It just lost the battle for attention."},{"host":"Nora","text":"I'll take the small wins. A swimming thread on Bluesky is a small win."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Agreed. It's better than five and a half million people on a gore site."},{"host":"Nora","text":"One more from the softer side: Marcy, a Deadhead on Bluesky, posted about an awkward exchange that came from 'wholesome, innocent and kind hearted' place."},{"host":"Jake","text":"Vague, but I know exactly what she means. Those moments where someone means well and it lands wrong."},{"host":"Nora","text":"It kinda melted her heart, though. That's the core."},{"host":"Jake","text":"See, that's the internet too. Not everything's a fight."},{"host":"Nora","text":"Don't worry. Tomorrow someone will post a bad take about Dracula and we'll be back to arguing."}]}