Facebook said that the live stream of the shooting at the mosques in New Zealand last week was not flagged as offensive by any users during the 17-minute airing. Beyond that, the social media giant says that the video was viewed less than 200 times as it streamed but was ultimately viewed 4,000 times before being removed from the site, according to AP News .
Chris Sonderby, Facebook VP and Deputy General Counsel, said that it took users about 30 minutes to report the video, underscoring the challenges that the site is facing in identifying and removing offensive content.
“No users reported the video during the live broadcast,” Sonderby said in a Facebook statement. “We continue to work around the clock to prevent this content from appearing on our site, using a combination of technology and people.”
“The first user report on the original video came in 29 minutes after the video started, and 12 minutes after the live broadcast ended,” Sonderby added.
Facebook says that it removed the video after receiving a report from New Zealand police. They say that they worked with law enforcement to not only remove the video but to provide information to investigators.
Addressing the original video wasn’t the only challenge that the site faced, according to the statement.
“In the first 24 hours, we removed about 1.5 million videos of the attack globally. More than 1.2 million of those videos were blocked at upload, and were therefore prevented from being seen on our services,” Sonderby wrote.
The site says that it continues to be vigilant and has both technology and people in place to help put a stop to its spread.
Facebook isn’t the only site facing the challenge of keeping the video off its channels. YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit have all struggled to take the video down as it continues to resurface.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called on social media channels to prevent the video from being viewed, saying that the emotional impact is too great for the video to be allowed to circulate.
One person claims to have reported the video as it was streaming. Reporter Jared Holt tweeted that he has tried to inform Facebook about the video.
Facebook hasn’t responded to Holt’s claim about his report.
The attack took place last week after a self-proclaimed white nationalist entered two mosques and began shooting during Friday Prayer at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. Nearly 50 people were killed and 50 injured during the shootings.
