Why Facebook didn't activate Safety Check for the Beirut bombings

Last Friday, Facebook activated the ‘Safety Check’ feature in the wake of the Paris attacks. Many people were thrilled with the safety check feature and thought it was very helpful in connecting with loved ones who were in Paris. However, there were people very upset with Facebook over the fact that they did not launch the safety check feature when there were bombings in Beirut. The day before the Paris attacks there were Daesh bombings in Beirut, which killed over 40 people. Anne Barnard, New York Times’ bureau chief in Beirut was very vocal about her issues with Facebook. She wondered “how Facebook decides which countries disasters are unusual enough (or lives valuable enough) to make it profitable to facilitate checking on people’s safety.” People also tweeted about this issue and how it seems that the other places didn’t deserve the safety check feature but Paris did. Facebook’s response to the criticism was that this was the first time they activated the feature for a crisis that wasn’t the result of a natural disaster. They stated that they plan to use it more in the future and use it whenever and wherever they can help.

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