Facebook video of shooting prompts debate over sharing graphic images

In the hours before Facebook announced that video of a murder prompted the social network to examine its practices surrounding the reporting of graphic images and offensive content, the platform was flooded with impassioned pleas — "please take down this video" and "please have respect for this innocent man killed in cold blood" among them.

Those were some of the emotional reactions from members of the public after suspect Steve Stephens, 37, allegedly posted video of himself shooting and killing Cleveland grandfather Robert Godwin Sr., 74, and after many others opted to share it. Although Facebook removed the graphic video, it continued to be shared across the social media platform. That led some Facebook users to complain of being disturbed and heartbroken by the contents and to ask posters to remove the video. One woman wrote that the scene automatically began playing on her Facebook account before she realized what was happening. After viewing the video, she wrote, she had been crying non-stop.

When media personality Donnie Simpson posted a link to the video, warning followers of its graphic nature, Facebook user Mary Bradley asked him to delete it, w. She wrote, "Please remove this post, Donnie Simpson. I am in Cleveland. Mr. Godwin's family is distraught."

Neither Simpson nor Bradley could be reached on Monday, but Simpson later took down the post, offering condolences to the Godwin family and saying he deleted the video "because it's so disturbing and upset a lot of people." Simpson further explained, "I understand that and feared that it would — that's why I warned people about watching it — but decided to post it because it was all over the internet and every TV station in the country."

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Media experts said Facebook's move on Monday afternoon was the right thing to do and that allowing the sharing of the video only served prurient interests and morbid curiosity. Facebook said it was examining its current process in which users may report inappropriate or offensive content, looking at how technology can better help identify similar situations and how Facebook can hasten the reporting process.

The social network said that it never received a report of an initial video posted by Stephens in which he reported that he was going to commit murder, and that reports of the second video that included the killing did not reach the network until more than an hour and 45 minutes after posting. Facebook reported that it disabled Stephens' account 23 minutes after receiving a report of the murder video.

"It was a horrific crime — one that has no place on Facebook, and goes against our policies and everything we stand for," read the post from Justin Osofsky, Facebook's vice president of Global Operations. "Keeping our global community safe is an important part of our mission. We are grateful to everyone who reported these videos and other offensive content to us, and to those who are helping us keep Facebook safe every day."

Benjamin Mullin of the Poynter Institute told USA TODAY that when similar situations have cropped up, Facebook has stressed it is not a media company, but circumstances such as the one involving the Cleveland video are forcing Facebook and other social media sites to address the same questions as media and news organizations.

"I think that we're already seeing that the outcry has elicited a response from Facebook," said Mullin, Poynter's managing editor. "Facebook has enormous power given its massive userbase — 1.8 billion people per month — and that massive reach can be used for good but it can also be used, as Sunday evening showed, to broadcast some terrible things. I think you're seeing Facebook go through some of the same issues that news organizations did."

Mullin referred to situations such as the live shooting suicide on television of Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer in 1987 and the live shooting suicide of Florida television anchor Christine Chubbuck in 1974. In 2015, WDBJ-TV television journalists Adam Ward and Alison Parker were fatally shot on live television by gunman Bryce Williams. In all these situations, media organizations grappled with separating news from unnecessary and tragic pictures.

"It's clear to me that Facebook is going through some of the growing pains that media companies experienced," Mullin said.

Author and media observer Eric Schiffer also applauded Facebook's move. He tweeted on Monday that Facebook has a "duty" to monitor video of "cold blooded murders."

"I think it's great," Schiffer told USA TODAY regarding Facebook's decision. "This is a guy who's sick and who I think was partly inspired by his ability to get notoriety."

Members of the public should complain and not share graphic videos if they want to help change the culture surrounding such videos, Schiffer said. "I think that this is an all-out war that needs to happen against these types of videos being easily spread so that those who intend to do this are not going to get secondary benefits."

Follow Melanie Eversley on Twitter: @MelanieEversley