Facebook plans to review content reporting system after murder video stayed on its service for hours

Scott Carlson/Cleveland19News

There are unforgettable moments you get to see on Facebook’s video platform these days. Unfortunately, some of them are terrible and gruesome. One of these was the documentation of a deadly shooting that happened in Cleveland, which stayed on the site for hours before it was taken down. The social network says they’re reviewing their content reporting system because of this. According to a statement Facebook released, “As a result of this terrible series of events, we are reviewing our reporting flows to be sure people can report videos and other material that violates our standards as easily and quickly as possible.

The video showed a man identified by police as Steve Stephens approaching and then shooting 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. It took over an hour and 45 minutes for the video to be reported after it was posted. Facebook says they disabled the suspect’s account within 23 minutes of receiving the first report. But the social network says they “know we need to do better.” Facebook says it makes use of artificial intelligence systems and “thousands of people around the world” to review content.

According to Facebook, there were three videos released by the suspect. The first one, which Facebook says they didn’t receive a report for, showed Stephens talking about killing. A little later he uploaded the video of the shooting. After that he confessed via Facebook Live and that’s where they received the report.

Source: The Verge