Suicide of Ronnie McNutt: Difference between revisions

Ronnie had recently broken up with his girlfriend<ref name="Rolling Stone">Dickson, E. (2020, September 9). [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/facebook-tiktok-livestream-suicide-1056959/ "Why Did Facebook Keep a Man's Livestreamed Suicide Up for Hours?"]. [[wikipedia:Rolling Stone|Rolling Stone]].</ref> on the night of August 31, his final day of suicide.<ref name="BBC">Wakefield, J. (2020, September 20). [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54176205 "Friend Challenges Facebook Over Ronnie McNutt Suicide Video"]. [[wikipedia:BBC News|BBC News]].</ref> Ronnie himself also tried drinking some beer that night.<ref name="BBC" /> He sent his final message on Facebook at 7:32 p.m., stating: "Someone in your life needs to hear that they matter" and "that they are loved. That they have a future. Be the one to tell them. TobyMac #SpeakLife", referring to [[wikipedia:Toby McKeehan|Toby McKeehan]]'s song "Speak Life". His suicide happened on his live-stream on [[wikipedia:Facebook|Facebook]]<ref name="Rolling Stone" /><ref name="nypost">Steinbuch, Y. (2020, September 9). [https://nypost.com/2020/09/09/ronnie-mcnutt-shared-heartbreaking-message-before-suicide/ "Ronnie McNutt Shared Heartbreaking Message Before Suicide"]. New York Post.</ref><ref name="Mirror">Kitching, C. (2020, September 11). [https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/ronnie-mcnutt-tragic-story-man-22665676 "Tragic Story Of Ronnie McNutt Who Killed Himself On Facebook Live Stream"]. Mirror.</ref> broadcasted at 9 p.m. local time.<ref name="Mirror" /> In the live stream taking place at his home in New Albany, Mississippi, Ronnie appeared very drunk and depressed.<ref name="mirror">Kitching, C. (2020, September 9). [https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/ronnie-mcnutt-man-who-live-22654249 "Man Who Live-streamed His Own Suicide Left Tragic Last Post On Facebook"]. ''Mirror.co.uk''.</ref> There were over 200 viewers<ref name="BBC" /> who advised him to get help<ref name="Mirror" />, which Ronnie ignored. Minutes before committing suicide, Ronnie receives a phone call from a person he knows, whether it be his ex-girlfriend or his mother. At 10:30 p.m.<ref name="Forbes">McEvoy, J. (2020, September 9). [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/09/09/friend-of-ronnie-mcnutt-whose-livestreamed-suicide-went-viral-says-facebook-couldve-stopped-it/ "Friend Of Ronnie McNutt, Whose Livestreamed Suicide Went Viral, Says Facebook Could’ve Stopped It"]. [[wikipedia:Forbes|Forbes]].</ref> Ronnie pointed the rifle to his head and misfired, blowing off his face completely. New Albany Police Department was shortly alerted by his friends<ref name="Rolling Stone" /> after he threatened to or after he kill himself during the stream, which they didn't arrive to his home until his death. Facebook stated that this "''completed broadcast was on the platform for 2 hours and 41 minutes.''"<ref name="heavy">Warnock, C. (2020, September 8). [https://heavy.com/news/2020/09/ronnie-mcnutt-facebook-video/ "Ronnie McNutt’s Friend Speaks Out About Facebook Suicide Video"]. Heavy.</ref>

Ronnie's friends, including his close one, Josh Steen,<ref name="Forbes" /> tried to report the live-stream to Facebook before he killed himself.<ref name="mirror" /><ref name="heavy" /><ref name="TechCrunch">Coldewey, D. (2020, September 14). [https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/13/graphic-video-of-suicide-spreads-from-facebook-to-tiktok-to-youtube-as-platforms-fail-moderation-test/ "Graphic Video Of Suicide Spreads From Facebook To TikTok To YouTube As Platforms Fail Moderation Test"]. [[wikipedia:TechCrunch|TechCrunch]].</ref> At 11:51 pm, Facebook later dismissed one of the reports because it did not violate its guidelines.<ref name="Rolling Stone" /> The video was not taken down by the platform until eight hours later. However, it was too late for the video to be taken down, it was shortly re-uploaded to many platforms, such as [[wikipedia:YouTube|YouTube]], [[wikipedia:Twitter|Twitter]] and [[wikipedia:TikTok|TikTok]]. TikTok was also criticized for having the suicide appear on the "For You" feed.<ref name="news">Gramenz, J. (2020, September 10). [https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/tiktok-facebook-suicide-video-cant-be-stopped-by-laws-expert-warns/news-story/1f301f625ad4f3aa1085c415e25fa4a2 "Why TikTok Suicide Video Horror Will Happen Again"]. ''News.com.au''.</ref><ref name="mirror" /><ref name="nypost2">Steinbuch, Y. (2020, September 8). [https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/army-veteran-kills-himself-in-facebook-livestream/ "Army Veteran Ronnie McNutt Commits Suicide In Facebook Livestream"]. [[wikipedia:New York Post|New York Post]].</ref><ref name="Forbes" /> Media outlets also stated that some re-uploads of the suicide were also disguised as clips of cute animals.<ref name="news" /><ref name="Rolling Stone" /><ref name="Forbes" /> Steen blamed Facebook for failing to remove the video late. Facebook responds that they were "''reviewing how we could have taken down the live stream faster.''"<ref name="TechCrunch" />