A number of Facebook pages have popped up praising the suspect in the Aurora, Colorado, movie killings, WND (an Independent conservative news website) reported Friday.
One page, called “Free (the shooter) – He did it for the lulz,” says that “nerdz (sic) must die.”
The profile picture is that of the shooter with “666″ on his forehead.
As of this writing, the page has 71 likes. (the number had increased to well over 100)
There are several other pages quite similar to this, WND reported.
“Facebook is exploding with dozens of fan pages in support of (the Aurora, Colorado movie shooter) that blame society for the murderer’s rampage that has killed 12 and wounded 59 in Colorado – and despite several reports to Facebook from outraged users, the social network has not removed the pages,” Chelsea Schilling wrote.
WND reported the pages to Facebook, but the social media giant has yet to respond or take action. (as of this posting the pages have been taken down)
Schilling added that comments on the pages “range from expressions of support for the killer to jokes and even calls for more violence.”
“God made (the shooter) a killer. Respect god’s will. (sic),” reads a post on the page.
Other unedited comments include:
- “Sadly he couldn’t brake the breivik’s record. But he will try again (sic)”
- “Who wants to see (the shooter) free and killing more people. … ! (sic)”
Some of the more threatening posts were reported, but Facebook took no action, Schilling added.
“Thanks for your recent report of a potential violation on Facebook. After reviewing your report, we were not able to confirm that the specific page you reported violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,” Facebook told WND.
Schilling posted comments from at least seven Facebook pages that included racial slurs and calls for more violence.
“Batman dies at the end, and so do 12 other people,” read one comment at a pro-shooter page.
Another posted: “I give my props to (the shooter), I mean he killed babies too? He must’ve been a really good shot!”
“He did it for teh lulz. (sic),” one commenter wrote at a “(the shooter)” page that was created Friday and already has 419 ‘likes.’
Facebook’s community standards clearly state:
“Safety is Facebook’s top priority. You may not credibly threaten to harm others, or organize acts of real-world violence. We remove content and may escalate to law enforcement when we perceive a genuine risk of physical harm, or a direct threat to public safety.”
*After a search on Facebook for any pages related to this story, these pages have been removed. Thank you to Facebook for responding to the request to remove these pages.
To read the above referenced article in its entirety: Facebook pages praise Aurora movie killer, social media site does nothing – National Crime & Courts | Examiner.com.
Related articles
- #theatershooting (9news.com)
- ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Tragedy: How You Can Help The Victims (splashpage.mtv.com)
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4 comments
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ena
July 23, 2012 at 11:46 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
How sad that we have come to this. If we must speak in “support” of the gunman, then the only thing we can say is that he is one of God’s lost sheep and Jesus came to save him. When we pray for the grieving and the victims as we all are, then let us also pray for the shooter, that God may have mercy and that he discover the pathway of the love of Jesus. We have had shootings recently in my country too. It is sad and shocking. My heart goes out to all who were affected.
RevPat
July 23, 2012 at 3:34 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ena,
You are right – he is one of God’s lost sheep and I imagine that God is weeping for his loss, as well as for the grief that His people feel in this awful tragedy.
Many blessings sister,
Pat
steve
July 22, 2012 at 10:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Tell you what, I’d rather know what the loonies are thinking, and get an idea of what kind of nuts are out there, than bury my head in the sand and pretend everything is OK.
Let ‘em rant, I’m sure the lawmen would like to know too.
RevPat
July 22, 2012 at 10:58 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Can’t argue with you on that point. I simply wish we could focus on supporting the victims.
Blessings,
Pat