Facebook Inc. has come under scrutiny over its handling of a page associated with the self-declared militia group Kenosha Guard, which had created an event post calling on people to “take up arms” shortly before the fatal shooting of two people in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

Protesters took to the streets in Kenosha this week after police shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake. Late Tuesday night, two people were killed and a third was injured by a suspect with a rifle who was identified as a 17-year-old Illinois teenager.

The next morning, on Wednesday, Facebook removed the Kenosha Guard page and its event post that called on people to take up arms. The company is now facing scrutiny for only taking down the page hours after the fatal shooting that claimed two lives. On Wednesday, The Verge reported that at least two users had reported the Kenosha Guard page to Facebook prior to the shooting, but the social network’s moderators found the page didn’t violate its policies.

Facebook reportedly told one of the users that the event post itself was within the bounds of its platform rules but specific comments could be flagged for inciting violence. According to The Verge, when that individual then submitted a complaint about a specific comment, it too was found to be not in violation of the social network’s rules.

“We’ve designated this shooting as a mass murder and have removed the shooter’s accounts from Facebook and Instagram,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, we have not found evidence on Facebook that suggests the shooter followed the Kenosha Guard Page or that he was invited on the Event Page they organized. However, the Kenosha Guard Page and their Event Page violated our new policy addressing militia organizations and have been removed on that basis.”

About 10 days ago, Facebook expanded its Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy to disallow pages that contain discussions of potential violence, including cases when pages containing such discussions are affiliated with militias. 

Photo: Eston Bond/Flickr