Facebook glitch abruptly deleted a number of creators’ Live videos

Facebook’s catching some more controversy this week. It’s being reported that a Facebook glitch has resulted in some users’ Live video being deleted.

The glitch has deleted a number of user’s Live videos when they tried to post them to their Stories and News Feed after their broadcasts concluded. Facebook won’t disclose how many users were affected or how many Live videos were lost. However, the company did say the glitch only affected a small minority of all Live videos.

TechCrunch confirmed the bug when it asked Facebook about the issue. Facebook responded in a statement: “We recently discovered a technical issue that removed live videos from some people’s Facebook Timelines. We have resolved this issue and restored many of these videos to people’s Timelines. People whose videos we were unable to restore will get a notification on Facebook. We know saving memories on Facebook is important to people, and we apologize for this error.”

Facebook says it has fixed the glitch — and was able to restore some of the lost videos — but some of their broadcasts are lost forever. Facebook has issued some users an apology for the glitch.

Can video creators trust Facebook if their videos get deleted?

Facebook’s been trying to become the next YouTube with all of its new video features like Watch and tipping features for video creators. Right now it’s a critical moment for Facebook as it tries to rebrand itself towards being a more video friendly platform for creators. However, at this critical moment, this Facebook glitch has raised some serious questions. Is Facebook prepared to be a reliable video sharing platform?

We all know that Facebook’s been under huge controversy for exposing users’ personal data recently. Last March, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told Congress regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal that “We have a responsibility to protect your data — and if we can’t, then we don’t deserve to serve you.” But Facebook’s reputation as a trustworthy platform has been damaged.

It’s sad that some creators lost their broadcasts. But the main takeaway from this story is the question whether video creators will trust Facebook with their content. If a video creator can’t trust Facebook with their data, why would they ever choose the platform over YouTube or Twitch?

Sean Berry
Sean Berry
Sean Berry is Videomaker's Managing Editor.

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