In a terrible tragedy that took place on Sunday, police say a Cleveland man killed someone while broadcasting on Facebook Live. According to CBS News, the suspect began the stream around 2 p.m., and claimed to have committed other murders that have yet to be verified. In a press conference, Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson said “Steve Stephens killed an elderly gentleman. I personally give my condolences to the family of the victim…We know who Steve Stephens is and he will be eventually caught. He need not to do anymore harm to any innocent people.” The victim he speaks of is 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr., who had just finished Easter Sunday dinner with his family. While everyone seems to agree about how heinous this violent act was, it brought up a discussion about how much blame Facebook shoulders for allowing the content to be posted.
A majority of users tweeting with #FacebookLive showed extreme disappointment in the platform’s recent history of allowing violent acts to be streamed live, and their reliance on users to monitor it.
#FacebookLIVE needs to be shut down permanently @facebook #Cleveland
— Marc Chiddister (@marcchiddister) April 16, 2017
I Hope the Kind Man that was Killed by Steve Stephens will be the End of #FaceBookLive
It is Used for Rapes/Murder/Crimes
Enough is Enough— Sach Sage (@SageSach) April 16, 2017
How many brutal attacks are broadcast #live by #FacebookLIVE before they do something about it!
— Craig Williamson (@Craig3sports) April 17, 2017
Facebook live should be permanently disabled…. #FacebookLIVE
— UI/UX-mansap_Artist (@money7Magnetic) April 17, 2017
There were others in the minority of the discussion who thought that the blame should solely fall on the individual who committed the crime.
Tweet 1- People are blaming #facebooklive for that man murdering someone on Facebook. How stupid can you be? Lots of factors….continued
— Brandon (@FollowBrandonC) April 17, 2017
Why are people placing the blame of a murder on #FacebookLIVE and not blaming the actual murderer :/
— bennie35 (@bigbenmaul) April 17, 2017
While there was some disagreement in the discussion surrounding #FacebookLive about how much blame Facebook should have for the broadcast, I think we can all agree in our level of extreme sadness for the victim and his family during this unimaginable time.