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Facebook removing posts supporting Kyle Rittenhouse. Company says shooting was a 'mass murder'
September 03, 2020
Accused does not mean convicted
Facebook has reportedly opted to remove social media posts supporting 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, declaring that the shooting he was involved with to be a "mass murder."
Rittenhouse faces murder charges after he allegedly killed two rioters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and wounded another on Aug. 25 during ongoing protests.
What are the details?
On Tuesday, conservative author and YouTuber Mark Dice said he received a notice from Facebook, threatening a suspension, after he shared video of Rittenhouse offering medical aid to wounded Kenosha protesters.
He shared a Twitter update on the threat of suspension, writing, "Facebook just removed a video I posted showing Kyle Rittenhouse offering help to a wounded protester in Kenosha and are threatening to delete my entire account."
Dice's original post said, "Newly uncovered video of Kyle Rittenhouse shows him helping an injured protester after she was struck in the foot with a projectile. In another video he told the cameraman that he'd brought a medical kit, which is the bag he was carrying. Further proving he had no malicious intent by showing up. In fact, he was there to help anyone who needed it."
In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson told the Verge that the company is, indeed, removing posts appearing to support Rittenhouse because the company considers the shooting a "mass murder."
"We've designated this shooting as a mass murder and have removed the shooter's accounts from Facebook and Instagram," the spokesperson said.
In a later Twitter update, Dice wrote, "In no way did I 'glorify' or celebrate [Rittenhouse], nor 'praise' him. I simply posted a non-graphic video, and stated as a matter of fact what it showed. He helped a protester who was injured and didn't show up in Kenosha with any malicious intent to cause trouble."
What else?
In a statement to Media Research Center, Dice said that it's more than concerning that Facebook would attempt to censor what could be considered evidence in the Rittenhouse case.
"It's horrifying that Facebook is now censoring evidence in a criminal case that helps exonerate Kyle Rittenhouse," Dice said. "The post was going viral and had been shared almost 10,000 times and debunked the mainstream media's false narrative that Kyle went to the protest to cause trouble. Quite the contrary."
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Sarah Taylor
Sarah is a former staff writer for TheBlaze, and a former managing editor and producer at TMZ. She resides in Delaware with her family. You can reach her via Twitter at @thesarahdtaylor.
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