Facebook to remove posts praising the Atlanta shooting

Social networking service Facebook is taking action against hate messages and misinformation surrounding the mass shooting that left eight people dead in Atlanta earlier this week.

According to Mashable, on March 16, Robert Aaron Long allegedly shot and killed eight people at three different businesses in Atlanta: Young’s Asian Massage Parlor, Aromatherapy Spa and Gold Spa. Seven of the victims were women. Six have been identified as Asians.

According to the company, he refers to the filming as a violent event . This essentially means that Facebook will remove any content from its platform that praises or supports the shot or the shooter.

Such messages violate company policies on promoting or inciting violence. Facebook has previously classified shootings, like the one at the Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer, with this designation.

Additionally, the social networking company will not allow anyone to create a new account on Facebook or Instagram using the same name as the alleged shooter.

Over the past day, screenshots of a post purportedly from Long’s Facebook account have spilled online. Facebook confirmed that the post was fake.

We have confirmed that these screenshots are fake and are removing them from the platform for violating our policies, a Facebook spokesperson said in a comment provided to Mashable.

Although the Facebook account is fake, the company found an Instagram account that is actually linked to the shooter. Facebook said it deleted the account, which had been inactive for some time, and continued to monitor its platforms for additional accounts belonging to the shooter and to delete them.

Facebook also said it was in contact with law enforcement regarding the shooting.