The New Zealand shooting video was seen live around 200 times — and nobody reported it


In a statement released late Monday, Facebook provided a range of updates into its handling of Friday's Facebook Live-streamed New Zealand mosque shooting, in which 50 people were killed. Among its most disturbing revelations: that though the video was viewed approximately "200 times during the live broadcast," nobody reported it to the service for 29 minutes, or a full 12 minutes after it ended — by which time it had been "viewed about 4,000 times."
Facebook also said that it had removed a staggering 1.5 million videos of the shooting in the first 24 hours after the attack, 1.2 million of which had been "blocked at upload." Despite this, The Washington Post notes that the video nonetheless spread to other platforms, including YouTube, in the hours after the massacre.
The shooting — the third such incident to be broadcast on Facebook Live since the feature's public debut in 2016 — has led to widespread criticism of Facebook and other social media platforms, including by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. "We cannot simply sit back and accept that these platforms just exist and that what is said on them is not the responsibility of the place where they are published," said Ardern on Tuesday that. "This cannot be a case of all profit, no responsibility."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Facebook said that "We remain shocked and saddened by this tragedy and are committed to working with leaders in New Zealand, other governments, and across the technology industry to help counter hate speech and the threat of terrorism."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jacob Lambert is the art director of TheWeek.com. He was previously an editor at MAD magazine, and has written and illustrated for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, and The Millions.
-
'The answer isn't to shake faith in the dollar'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
The Week Junior Book Awards 2025 Shortlist Announced
The Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled the 2025 shortlist, celebrating the best in children’s literature across 13 categories.
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency