With the comment “Now you will see the murder live”, the attacker in Gradacac killed his ex-wife live on Instagram. The video became available at 10:20 am on August 11th. It was removed three hours later.
While the police search was underway, the attacker went live on Instagram again, saying he had killed several people, then posted a photo, deactivated and then reactivated the account.
Why was the video of the murder available for more than three hours, and why did the number of likes increase from 125 at 12:28 to 329 in an hour?
Psychotherapist Vahida Djedovic says that people actually like accidents and the bigger they are, the more people they attract.
“Because we survived the war, I guess, we got used to being under constant fear, and fear secretes adrenaline, and we as a nation have become dependent on that adrenaline, and then something always has to happen. We are no longer excited by the news that someone has killed someone, we need to watch that murder live,” explains Djedovic, commenting that she herself was horrified when she read the news about the murder.
‘Weakness of the mechanisms’
Maida Muminovic, executive director of Mediacenter Sarajevo, which is part of the Coalition for Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), says that Meta’s reaction should have been faster. Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp are owned by this company.
“The circulation of this video on Instagram for hours showed the weakness of the mechanisms for reporting and removing disturbing content on social media, the irresponsibility of Meta. The video was viewed and commented on,” says Muminovic.
What to do next?
Gradacac is a city in the north of BiH with 39.000 inhabitants. In Gradacac, on August 11th, 2023, an attacker killed three people and wounded three. One of those killed was his ex-wife, who had previously reported him for violence.
Medina Mujic, a member of the CURE Foundation, says that they, as a feminist organization, condemn the numerous likes that grew by the minute.
“Are we so unempathetic that we write in the comments that this is a private matter, that we should not interfere in this, that it is their private life, and that it does not concern us? Yes, it concerns us. All of us and all of us can be victims of violence, victims of people who obviously need professional help. They walk the streets freely,” said Mujic, who, together with others, took to the streets of Sarajevo to protest because of the murder, Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
