Facebook has again activated its ‘Safety Check’ feature after a bombing killed at least 31 people and injured nearly a hundred more in the Nigerian city of Yola today.
The bombing, likely carried out by militant group Boko Haram, is the latest in a spate of violent attacks in the country.
Facebook were heavily criticised for activating the feature after the terror attacks in Paris, but not for those that took place in Beirut last Thursday. 40 people lost their lives in the attack on the Lebanese capital. The difference in responses from the social media network sparked discussions about the subjectivity of tragedy.
The website’s founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a message regarding the decision to reactivate the feature, attempting to address concerns of bias by saying “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.”
We’ve activated Safety Check again after the bombing in Nigeria this evening.After the Paris attacks last week, we…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, 17 November 2015
4.1 million Parisians used the feature to alert family and friends of their safety following the attacks, but the extent of its use in Yola remains unknown.
Story via Fairfax.
Image via Twitter/Twitter.
