Facebook criticised for double standards on Paris, Beirut attacks

'Safety check' feature had been used after the attacks in France, but not in Beirut bombings a day earlier

Facebook has come under fire for introducing a ‘safety check’ feature following the Paris terror attacks but not after the deadly Beirut bombings which killed over 40 people.

In a debate that ensued online, critics accused the website of valuing and prioritising western lives more than those in the Middle East and other regions.



The safety check feature allows people caught in major accidents and incidents such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters to inform friends and family they are safe.



Prior to the Paris attacks, the feature has only been implemented after natural disasters such as during the recent earthquake in Pakistan last month.

However, social media users criticised the decision and expressed resentment over the fact that the feature had been used after the attacks in France, but not in Beirut where suicide bombers had killed at least 43 people only a day earlier.



Lebanese blogger Elie Fares criticised the disparity in reaction to the two sets of attacks, arguing that the deaths in Beirut did not seem to matter as much as the deaths in Paris in a heartfelt blog, which was shared by many publications.

“Obama did not issue a statement about how their death was a crime against humanity; after all what is humanity but a subjective term delineating the worth of the human being meant by it?” Fares said in a blog post.

Another blogger, Joey Ayoub, also wrote a blog which was shared over 10,000 times on social media in which he said "When my people died on the streets of Beirut on November 12th, world leaders did not rise in condemnation."



"'We' do not get a safe button on Facebook. ‘We’ don’t get late night statements from the most powerful men and women alive and millions of online users. ‘We’ don’t change policies which will affect the lives of countless innocent refugees," he wrote.

Many took to Twitter to express their concern over the disparity.

Nice French Flag Overlay, Facebook: Now How Do We Show Solidarity With Beirut? https://t.co/XJv8eNycsT

— Constitution Sue (@constitutionsue) November 16, 2015

I've refrained from putting a French flag on Facebook. Not because I don't care. Because I wasn't offered one for Lebanon, or others. 🇫🇷🇱🇧

— Andrew Wilson (@AndrewJAWilson) November 14, 2015

In creating the French flag filter, Facebook must avoid appearing to disparage other crises https://t.co/GynhccHhay pic.twitter.com/1UxdTx8HHR

— Natt การุณรังษีวงศ์ (@nattgarun) November 14, 2015

Apparently Beirut doesn't deserve a safety check on Facebook

ZUCK bro grow up... https://t.co/t5zAdYkioS

— lrlikhon (@lrlikhon) November 15, 2015

To be honest, I'm annoyed that people in #Beirut couldn't check in on Facebook as "safe" the other day.

— Kareem Chehayeb | كريم شهيب (@chehayebk) November 14, 2015

One person even started a petition to counter Facebook's bias.

@rushanaraali I've started a petition on Facebook's bias on terrorism. Please read/RT #ParisAttacks #AllLivesMatter https://t.co/M2OJtGPz75

— Hamish Noah (@HamishNoah) November 15, 2015

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, addressed the criticism, saying, “Many people have rightfully asked why we turned on Safety Check for Paris but not for bombings in Beirut and other places.



"Until yesterday, our policy was only to activate 'Safety Check' for natural disasters. We just changed this and now plan to activate Safety Check for more human disasters going forward as well. Thanking people who came forward with questions and concerns he added, "We care about all people equally, and we will work hard to help people suffering in as many of these situations as we can.”

This article originally appeared on The Indpendent