Why Did Facebook Keep a Man's Livestreamed Suicide Up for Hours?

(Sub)Culture The social media platform initially claimed it did not violate the platform's community standardsJoshua Steen wasn’t particularly surprised when he saw his friend Ronnie McNutt, 33, on Facebook Live on August 31st. “He often used a livestreaming platform as his form of therapy,” Steen tellsRolling Stone about his friend, who he met during a community theater production of Footloose and with whom he cohosted a podcast. “He would get on whatever service it was and just ramble. He liked to talk; he liked to argue with people about theology [and] geek and pop culture news. He just liked the back and forth.”It took only a few seconds for Steen to realize that this time was different. McNutt appeared to be heavily inebriated and despondent, having broken up with his girlfriend (though he had not lost his job, as press reports would later confirm). An Iraq War veteran, McNutt had long struggled with depression and PTSD, and there were hundreds of comments from people on the strea...