Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that the social network failed to remove a page created by a militia group called the Kenosha Guard before a …
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that the social network failed to remove a page created by a militia group called the Kenosha Guard before a deadly shooting at a protest in Wisconsin because of an “operational mistake.” Facebook users notified the company of an event organized by the Kenosha Guard that issued a “call to arms” before racial justice protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, The Verge reported this week. Users reported the event for inciting violence, but received messages stating the content didn’t run afoul of the social network’s rules. BuzzFeed, which viewed an internal report, said the Kenosha Guard event was reported to Facebook at least 455 times. Protests erupted after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot seven times in the back by Kenosha police during an arrest on Sunday and became paralyzed. On Tuesday, two protesters were shot to death and another person was wounded during a protest in that city. Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old resident of Antioch, Illinois, was accused of killing the two protesters. He was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide and other criminal counts. Zuckerberg admitted Facebook made the wrong call by not pulling down the Kenosha Guard and event sooner. The page and event did violate new rules the company rolled out last week about “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals,” Zuckerberg told employees in a video posted on his Facebook page on Friday.
