8 Minutes and 46 Seconds

Submission 5,909

Part of a series on Death of George Floyd. [View Related Entries]

About

8 Minutes and 46 Seconds refers to the amount of time former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd, who died in police custody. Many spread the time, including television stations and brands, who ceased social media posting and broadcasting for that amount of time, which became the subject of criticism.

Origin

On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd died while in police custody after officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

Several days later, on May 29th, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office made the criminal complaint against Chauvin public.^[1] The complaint states:

The defendant had his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr. Floyd was non-responsive.

Spread

On May 31st, the New York Times^[2] published an article entitled "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody." That day, the website 8m46s.com^[3] launched. The site is a timer set for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. They wrote, "On May 25th, 2020, Derek Chauvin held his knee on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, resulting in Mr. Floyd's death. I invite visitors to sit quietly and reflect for this same length of time. It feels like an eternity. A partial transcript of the incident is provided throughout."

The following day, children's television network Nickelodeon ceased broadcasting for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. They wrote, "Nickelodeon is going off the air for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in support of justice, equality and human rights. Redditor Speedbird235 published video of the channel airing the message. The video received more than 180,000 points (85% upvoted) and 3,000 comments in less than 24 hours (shown below).

That day, other brand accounts announced similar actions. The Verge reported that Spotify ^[4] would "add 8:46-minute moment of silence to playlists and podcasts in honor of George Floyd." The tweet announcing the event received more than 4,500 likes and 2,200 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

That day, GameSpot tweeted,^[5] "For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, we will stop posting in our social feeds in tribute to George Floyd. We dedicate this time to the victims of police brutality and the powerful movement fighting for justice. Join @ColorofChange. Text DEMANDS to 55156." The tweet received more than 2,300 likes and 1,200 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Some online criticized brands for their posts, considering them empty gestures. For example, Twitter^[6] user @scottgairdner responded to Quibi's message with "Imagine, no one using Quibi for 8 minutes" (shown below, left).

Responding to the Spotify announcement, Singer Kehlani tweeted,^[7] "open ur purse @Spotify." The tweet received more than 65,000 likes and 13,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Twitter user @PimpMasterYoda1 posted a video of a Yoda puppet scolding the GameSpot post (shown below).