Facebook Failed to Remove Militia Page Linked to Kenosha Unrest

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com – Facebook made an “operational mistake” in not acting sooner to take down a page for a militia group that posted a call to arms in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The statement came from the company’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Friday.

The Big Tech company removed the Kenosha Guard page on Wednesday as well as an event listing there for Armed Citizens to Protect Our Lives and Property.

The page and event listing violated Facebook’s policy against “militia organizations”.

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Facebook's action came after two people were shot and killed during protests in the town on Tuesday night, part of three nights of civil unrest that followed the shooting by a white police officer that left a Black man, Jacob Blake Jr, paralyzed.

Zuckerberg, speaking in a video message published on his Facebook profile, acknowledged the company had received complaints from "a bunch of people" about the Kenosha Guard posting.

"The contractors and reviewers who the initial complaints were funneled to basically didn't pick this up," he said.

"And on second review, doing it more sensitively, the team that's responsible for dangerous organizations recognized that this violated the policies and we took it down."

Zuckerberg said the company had not found any evidence to show that the person charged with the fatal shooting during Tuesday's unrest followed the Kenosha Guard page.