On Wednesday, Facebook told Examiner the page " Zimmerman Must Die " does not violate the site's community standards for violence, despite the title's clear implication.
A number of pages advocating violence against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted Saturday of all charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, have sprung up on Facebook.
Many have been reported, with Facebook saying the pages do not violate their standards. Several, including a page calling for riots in Martin's name, have been yanked, but others continue to thrive.
The page, " Kill George Zimmerman ," for example, was formed on July 13 and remains live despite numerous reports.
"[W]hy is this mother f****r still alive?!" one person posted on the page.
The page sparked angry comments from both sides of the debate.
"Because you are angry about the killing of Trayvon Martin, you advocate the killing of George Zimmerman................seems legit," one person wrote sarcastically.
"Facebook also allows pages whose titles urge people to kill other public figures, like Justin Bieber and members of the band One Direction," the Huffington Post reported Wednesday.
This was seen last August when Facebook allowed a page called " Kill Mitt Romney " to flourish for some 17 days despite numerous reports.
"This is a page advocating for the murder of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney," the page description said.
Facebook's policies are clear regarding threats made online.
"We remove content and may escalate to law enforcement when we perceive a genuine risk of physical harm, or a direct threat to public safety," Facebook says . "You may not credibly threaten others, or organize acts of real-world violence."
A page demanding Facebook remove " kill Zimmerman " pages was set up on Monday in response to Facebook's actions.
"Facebook is actively promoting the killing of George Zimmerman. That's as simple as that," one person posted.
Since Zimmerman's acquittal, a number of social media users have issued death threats against him, his wife, attorney and the jurors in the case.
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Is Facebook employing a double standard in its enforcement policies? Joe will discuss this issue Thursday, July 18, on Blog Talk Radio at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time. The webcast can be heard here .
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