LONDON — Internet companies scrambled on Friday to remove graphic video filmed by a gunman in the New Zealand mosque shootings that was widely available on social media for hours after the horrific attack.
Facebook said it took down a livestream of the shootings and removed the shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after being alerted by police. At least 49 people were killed at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand’s third-largest city.
Using what appeared to be a helmet-mounted camera, the gunman livestreamed in horrifying detail 17 minutes of the attack on worshippers at the Al Noor Mosque.
Twitter and YouTube owner Google also said it was working to remove the footage from its sites.
The furor highlights once again the speed at which graphic and disturbing content from a tragedy can spread around the world and how Silicon Valley tech giants still are grappling with how to prevent that from happening.
The hours it took to take the violent video down is “another major black eye” for social media platforms, said Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities.
The rampage’s broadcast “highlights the urgent need for media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to use more artificial intelligence as well as security teams to spot these events before it’s too late,” Ives said.