14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has adopted a non-apologetic attitude for taking down several pictures from the account of Kendal Jones, a Texas cheerleader who really likes posing with a wide range of animals she shot during a safari in Zimbabwe.
The social network denied that the public outcry over the pictures had any influence over the decision, simply stating that they were violating Facebook’s terms of service.
More specifically, the pictures break Facebook’s rules about graphic images that are being shared for sadistic effect or to celebrate or glorify violence.
“We remove reported content that promotes poaching of endangered species, the sale of animals for organized fight or content that includes extreme acts of animal abuse,” Facebook told Mashable.
Furthermore, the number of reports on a certain case does not influence the company’s decision, although it will certainly make them speed things up. This means that the 326,000 (and counting) signatures from all over the world are pointless in asking Zuckerberg to take action.
However, not all offensive pictures are removed, says Facebook, while mentioning that certain content can be used to spread awareness, no matter how gruesome it may be. “We welcome dialogue about animal abuse, hunting, and other animal-rights issues.”
There’s even a support page for Kendall Jones which has over 492,000 likes already and a few hashtags that the teen wants to promote, including #ScienceNotEmotion and #Support Kendall, as a response to all the criticism.
Facebook has also received its fair share of critique from Kendall’s supporters, who include hunting fanatics and gun rights promoters.
The social network has taken down several pictures already, including some portraying the 19-year-old cheerleader next to the bodies of her kills – a lion, a zebra, a leopard, and more.
There’s even a picture of her sitting next to a white rhino, an endangered species, but she defended that one saying the animal was only immobilized at the time so that a wound could be treated. Of course, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t killed one before. Her Facebook bio notes that a white rhino was actually her first kill, back when she was thirteen. The photograph in question hasn’t been removed.
She recently made a controversial post on her page, saying that organized hunting, like the one she practices, has a positive economic impact on conservation, although that is rarely the case on the locations she’s been posing in.
Her commenters are either supporting her fully, or criticizing her heavily, although the number of supporters seems to be too high for comfort.