A video allegedly showing graphic child pornography was shared on Facebook more than 32,000 times and "liked" by more than 5,000 people over 8 hours on Thursday night before it was taken down.
"Facebook immediately removed the material once it became aware of the issue, but by that stage it was already circulating on other networks as people had taken screengrabs from the footage and posted censored versions to warn others of its existence," the Irish Examiner writes.
Facebook said it removed the content as soon as it became aware of it. "Nothing is more important to Facebook than the safety of the people that use our site, and this material has no place on Facebook. We have zero tolerance for child pornography being uploaded onto Facebook and are extremely aggressive in preventing and removing child exploitive content. We are pleased that this material was reported to us quickly enabling its swift removal," a Facebook spokesperson said.
Facebook uses Microsoft's PhotoDNA software to automatically identify child pornography and other illegal images. But many people who had the video pop up on their News Feeds said they had difficulty reporting the material to Facebook administrators.
In an age where social media has become a major outlet for many people to express themselves, it is very possible that some of the people sharing the video were doing so to warn others or to express their disgust.
Therein lies the paradox of publicity, often taken advantage of by the unscrupulous or bombastic. An unsourced political screed or racist rant can often go viral as people share content with friends, eager to build opposition to the original message. Like progressives tuning in to Rush Limbaugh or Twi-hard fans reading a negative review of their favorite movie, controversy grabs eyeballs. Advertisers don't care why page views increase, only that they do.
In the same way, few people subjected to the video actually contacted the authorities in the real world. Some tried to contact Facebook, but most either looked away or passed it on, presumably to other people just as shocked by it.
It is a dangerous inversion of the bystander effect. Rather than simply being ignored, worthless, revolting or illegal content becomes magnified in the ensuing controversy. And in the eye of that storm, it remains untouched, for eight hours.