Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two men and History Archivesinjured a third on Aug. 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Now, Meta has decided it will no longer remove comments on Facebook and Instagram that praise him.
Days after Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, Facebook's Brian Fishman tweeted that the company was implementing its then week-old policy for dealing with such incidents.
"Yesterday we designated the shooting as a mass murder and removed the shooter’s accounts from Facebook & Instagram," Fishman tweeted on Aug. 27. "Per standard practice in these situations, we are also removing praise and support of the shooter and have also blocked searches of his name on our platforms."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
"Companies like Facebook owe it to everyone to closely examine the influence of online content on such violence — and to take action to stop it," Fishman continued.
However, with a jury finding Rittenhouse not guilty of homicide or any other charge this November, the company formerly known as Facebook has now decided that praise and support for this particular shooter is now acceptable.
Speaking to The Verge, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company's policy regarding conversations about Rittenhouse and the Kenosha shootings is being rolled back to once more allow admiration for the shooter. It's a somewhat bizarre and potentially dangerous change, as Rittenhouse is most known and likely to be lauded for shooting people — behaviour many would prefer to discourage.
"While we will still remove content that celebrates the death of the individuals killed in Kenosha, we will no longer remove content containing praise or support of Rittenhouse," Meta's spokesperson told The Verge.
Mashable has reached out to Meta to inquire how it distinguishes between celebrating the deaths of Rosenbaum and Huber, and praising Rittenhouse for having shot them.
SEE ALSO: A militia group posted a 'call to arms' on Facebook. Now two people in Kenosha are dead.The Meta spokesperson further stated that Facebook and Instagram's previous search restrictions concerning Kyle Rittenhouse were being removed, and that he is free to rejoin the company's platforms if he so chooses. Mashable has asked Meta whether Rittenhouse will have to build his social media profiles from scratch, or if his previous ones will be reinstated.
Facebook has come under significant scrutiny in past years for facilitating radicalisation, violence, and societal division. Regardless of the court's verdict, Meta's unprompted decision to resume hosting praise for a notoriously divisive shooter is unlikely to help rectify these issues.
Topics Facebook Instagram Meta
Putting Millions Back to Work
Bernie Sanders told Stephen Colbert America needs to 'stand together and fight'
Kids riding on trains for the video views aren't thrilling cops
Katie Ledecky casually waits 35 seconds for everyone else to finish college race
Through the Eyes of Men
Apple brings back its sexiest emoji
Bookstore praised for banning Wi
How Trump won an election helped by America's anti
Immigration and the Carceral State
Pilot goes on epic rant after political fight breaks out on airplane
The Worming of Acorn
Microsoft's CEO wants bots and AI in every home
Google's new website lets you play with its experimental AI projects
Apple had to buy many of its old products for its pricey design book
The Unofficial Chief of Staff
Bernie Sanders told Stephen Colbert America needs to 'stand together and fight'
Airline named the best in the world 4 years in a row is also the funniest
Mattel honors Ashley Graham with her very own true
The Online Culture Wars
Mark Zuckerberg's Pinterest account hacked again
'Justice League' is like a chocolate chip cookie with cockroach chunksHow to get a job at: BlizzardEmpire State Building celebrates Australia's sameLucky 'Star Wars' fans got a surprise visit from Mark Hamill during a tour at DisneylandTesla killer Fisker shoots for solidDisney confirms 'Marvel Heroes' will be shut downThe Plaza offers 'Home Alone 2' package for movie's 25th anniversaryWalmart will have SNES Classics on sale for the next three daysTesla hits back at employee's racial discrimination claimsPhone makers are collectively dropping the ball on software qualityAmazon Alexa and the Echo, Echo Plus, Dot now available in CanadaYour commute just turned into a workout session on this trainHow do you pronounce Gal Gadot's last name? She's here to help you outWalmart's robotics partner just raised $17.5 million to fund more store automation'Get Out' will compete as a comedy for the Golden GlobesRussian bots dropped 45,000 garbage tweets on us during the Brexit referendumChrome is still king of the web browsers, beating Firefox QuantumYouTubers from this country are killing it, thanks to the rest of the worldYouTuber's advent calendar for tweens was terrible and her excuse was even worseWalmart will have SNES Classics on sale for the next three days John Boyega says there's 'no excuse' for Hollywood's lack of diversity 'Black Panther' reigns as box office king for the fifth week straight People think this dog looks like Ivanka Trump, and they're not wrong Mark Hamill got an unexpected reminder of Carrie Fisher in a hotel room 'Big Little Lies' cast tease the first shots of Season 2 on Instagram Here are the 'Star Wars' Easter eggs to look for in 'Ready Player One' Please, CW: Renew 'Jane the Virgin' and 'Crazy Ex Interstellar asteroid was likely born in a solar system with 2 stars Lyft tests a bunch of 'all 'Handmaid's Tale' cast teases all the Season 2 secrets: 'Anyone could die' Google adds 'swipe to unlock' feature to Android Auto New 'God of War' redefines what epic means: First impression review St. Patrick awkwardly pointing at snakes is a BIG MOOD Senator Ron Wyden launches inquiry into Facebook’s data BMW wants to make EV batteries way better within 5 years Everything you need to know about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Hulu is streaming NCAA basketball in new March Madness Experience Report: Trump plans sanctions on Venezuela's 'Petro' cryptocurrency Why 'The Death of Stalin' is the ultimate Trump Steven Spielberg on why we're so obsessed with the '80s
2.2928s , 10130.5546875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【History Archives】,Inspiration Information Network