By Spencer Wang ‘19, Staff Writer

On April 6, 2016, Mark Zuckerberg posted an announcement celebrating a new function on the Facebook platform: Facebook Live. This new release on both the Facebook website and app allows for live videos to be taken and broadcasted to followers. Zuckerberg compared it to “having a TV camera in your pocket.” Ads for Facebook Live promoted it as a way to document spontaneous events for friends and family to see. However, Facebook Live recently became a platform for an instance of senseless violence and hatred.

On January 3rd, a Facebook Live video was broadcast from the profile of Brittany Covington depicting a terrifying scene–a young man tied up and gagged, being tortured and verbally abused by a group of individuals. The video, which is over 25 minutes long, shows the victim being kicked, punched and even violently having his hair cut off with a knife. At various times during the broadcast, the person recording the video even turns the camera towards herself and the other assailants. They laugh hysterically and yell slurs such as, “F*** white people” and “F*** Donald Trump,” also forcing the victim to repeat phrases such as “I love black people” and again, “F*** Donald Trump.” From the video, it was assumed that the victim was white and all the assailants were African-American.

The victim of this “live” torture is an 18-year-old teen who suffers from both schizophrenia and ADHD; his name has  been withheld by the press. He allegedly asked to stay with a friend — one of the assailants — for two nights, and on January 2nd he ceased contact with his parents. The attack supposedly began in a vehicle stolen by one of the suspects and continued in a Chicago apartment building.  According to Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti, the suspects demanded $300 from the victim’s mother. The victim only escaped after the assailants left to argue with nearby residents about the noise.

The victim was found wandering the cold Chicago streets, and Chicago police officer Michael Donnelly said that “he was bloody and battered… He was very discombobulated.” The victim was taken to a local hospital and then released after treatment. The four suspects have been identified as Jordan Hill, 18; Tesfaye Cooper, 18; Tanisha Covington, 24; and Brittany Covington, 18.  All four suspects have been charged with a hate crime, unlawful restraint and battery, with Jordan Hill also being charged with car theft. During the judicial hearing, the judge denied bail for all suspects, which was met with cheers in the courtroom.

The Chicago Facebook Live torture has brought on a slew of political and social controversy. After the broadcast, far-right individuals and groups began putting the blame on the Black Lives Matter movement — the hashtag #BLMkidnapping was mentioned 480,000 times on Twitter.  Although leaders of Black Lives Matter have not released official statements, many fervent supporters of the movement have retaliated.

Former Chicago policeman Dimitri Roberts offered an interesting response to CNN: “This is hate. And hate doesn’t have a color.” Alan Lin ‘19, executive board member of Asian Diversity Club, added: “It’s absolutely a hate crime, but the fact that there is [this Black Lives Matter] discussion is an example of the never-ending cycle of racial prejudice… Continued racial violence from one group incites the actions of another.” Besides the racial implications of the crime, Facebook Live has been criticized as not only a means of promoting violence but also desensitizing the public; multiple acts of brutality have been broadcast on the application.

Regarding social media, Humanities teacher Mr. Reed points out that “no more than television or film has [it desensitized us] over the last 50 years — we’ve been talking about this for decades… It provides a platform more available to more people, and as a result there is less of a filter.” Sophie Licostie ‘19 commented, “When you constantly surround yourself with anything it desensitizes you to it. Since there is such a big network now where we can see whatever we want; there’s really no privacy.” The Chicago Facebook live torture has not only created a whirlwind of moral outrage, but has also continued to fuel a crucial discussion about racial tensions in America.