Facebook says it ‘needs to do better’ after murder video stayed up for hours

In a statement today, Facebook said it will review its content reporting system after a video showing a deadly shooting in the Cleveland area stayed on the site for hours.

“As a result of this terrible series of events, we are reviewing our reporting flows to be sure people can report videos and other material that violates our standards as easily and quickly as possible,” the company said in the statement.

A nationwide search is under way after the release of the shooting video, which appeared to show a man identified by police as Steve Stephens approaching and shooting 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. The company said in today’s statement that it took more than an hour and 45 minutes for the video to be reported after it was posted.

“We disabled the suspect’s account within 23 minutes of receiving the first report about the murder video, and two hours after receiving a report of any kind,” the company said in the statement. “But we know we need to do better.” Facebook says it uses artificial intelligence systems and “thousands of people around the world” to review content.

Facebook also laid out a timeline for the incident, saying the suspect released three videos. The first, which the company said it never received a report for, showed Stephens talking about killing. He soon uploaded the video of the shooting, and then used Facebook Live to confess in a five-minute video. Facebook says it received a report on the live video shortly after it ended.

“Keeping our global community safe is an important part of our mission,” Facebook said in the statement. “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.”