While it is certainly possible that Near committed suicide, there is no proof of it. Even on the linked Wikipedia article, the only evidence is a Twitter thread and a few people saying that they "spoke to the police", and nothing else.
USA Today reported on a Twitter thread. They did not claim to have access to any official documents, only second hand accounts of what the police said.
There would most likely have been an official record of his death. Embassies in Japan usually publish records of expat deaths. None of the confirmed expat deaths in Japan in that time window match anything like Near's description.
The only reason information about his death would be blocked is due to an ongoing investigation by police.
It is unlikely that the police would share information about an ongoing investigation with anyone, and if they did it would only be with family.
What it boils down to is that someone on the internet heard from the Japanese police that near had killed himself because of online bullying.
Just to be clear, if I were Near, I might hoax my own suicide if it hurt Kiwifarms. But I don't think there is nearly enough evidence to justify deplatforming Kiwifarms.
USA Today reported on a Twitter thread. They did not claim to have access to any official documents, only second hand accounts of what the police said.
There would most likely have been an official record of his death. Embassies in Japan usually publish records of expat deaths. None of the confirmed expat deaths in Japan in that time window match anything like Near's description.
The only reason information about his death would be blocked is due to an ongoing investigation by police.
It is unlikely that the police would share information about an ongoing investigation with anyone, and if they did it would only be with family.
What it boils down to is that someone on the internet heard from the Japanese police that near had killed himself because of online bullying.
Just to be clear, if I were Near, I might hoax my own suicide if it hurt Kiwifarms. But I don't think there is nearly enough evidence to justify deplatforming Kiwifarms.