True to its promise, Facebook has activated Safety Check after a bombing in Nigeria saw dozens die at a market yesterday (17 November) – with CEO Mark Zuckerberg again coming out to comment on the process.
Last week, Facebook was heavily criticised for enacting Safety Check in Paris, but not Beirut, after both cities were hit by major terrorist attacks.
The fallout from that decision was swiftly dealt with by Zuckerberg, though, who posted a message to his page saying that his company plans to “activate Safety Check for more human disasters going forward”.
In October last year, Facebook launched its Safety Check feature, which would allow people in a location where a major incident has happened to check in, notifying their friends that they are safe, drawing some praise in the process.
The Paris case was the first time the Safety Check was enabled by the company following a terrorist attack, with all previous incidents revolving around natural disasters.
So, fresh from that experience, Zuckerberg has again spoken out, with the horror scenes in Nigeria clearly hitting a chord.
“Unfortunately, these kinds of events are all too common, so I won’t post about all of them,” said Zuckerberg.
“A loss of human life anywhere is a tragedy, and we’re committed to doing our part to help people in more of these situations.
“In times like this, it’s important to remind ourselves that, despite the alarming frequency of these terrible events, violence is actually at an all-time low in history and continues to decline.
“Every member of our community spreads empathy and understanding on a daily basis. We are all connecting the world together. And if we all do our part, then one day there may no longer be attacks like this.”
Nigeria flag image via Shutterstock
