Facebook Beheading Videos Cause Outrage and Changes at the Social Media Giant

A backlash of public outrage has led to some increased scrutiny at Facebook recently. The changes come in the wake of some beheading videos which were posted online available for viewing.

People who watched the beheading videos were upset that the Social Media giant had not done more to screen and remove the video content which most found objectionable.

The Associated Press is reporting that Facebook announced today that it will try to develop better methods to prevent users from being exposed to video and content like this.

Although Facebook had previously banned beheading videos in May, reports indicate that the company mand an about-face and removed the ban.

In the face of sharp criticism by the public and political leaders, Facebook issued a statement to present their stance on the type of videos – pointing out that if the beheading videos are part of a news story or content they would be allowed.

“If they were being celebrated, or the actions in them encouraged, our approach would be different,” the company said in a statement. “However, since some people object to graphic video of this nature, we are working to give people additional control over the content they see. This may include warning them in advance that the image they are about to see contains graphic content.”