An investigation in The Guardian this week revealed that Zello, a walkie-talkie app used by 150 million people worldwide, had been used by insurrectionists who stormed the capitol on January 6th. For years, Zello had been used for recruitment and organizing by far-right militia groups, including some based in the tri-state-area. Now, the company says it has banned about 2,000 far-right channels from its platform.

Micah Loewinger, a reporter with WNYC’s On the Media, broke that story along with MilitiaWatch founder Hampton Stall. He told WNYC's Sean Carlson that Zello became a hotbed for far-right extremists because its founders resisted calls to moderate content on the app for years.

"Social media has helped radicalize Americans," Loewinger said. "And companies like Twitter, Google, Amazon, Facebook -- they are now starting to realize that these excuses for not moderating content on their platform could lead to really dangerous consequences."

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