The Fogel Family Massacre and Facebook Hypocrisy

On March 11th of this year, in the most under reported story of the year, five members of the Fogel family were brutally murdered in their homes on the West Bank of Jerusalem. Below is a picture of mourners and the victims.

The Israeli Government and the surviving members of the Fogel family authorized releasing the crime scene photos depicting the murdered family. They were not broadcast or printed by major media outlets which is somewhat understandable. Within hours of the photos being released the they were uploaded to pages on Facebook. It took approximately two hours for Facebook to pull the pictures from their site and from those who uploaded them. Fair enough on its own.

But then I saw a report on "America Live" with Megyn Kelly about the parents of Caroline Wimmer. I promptly did a search and came across this article dated today in NY Daily News.com HERE. Twenty Six year old Caroline Wimmer was strangled to death in March 2009 by her boyfriend who had beaten her prior to killing her. Mark Musarella was the first EMT on the scene after the parents found the body. He did something astonishing. He took a picture of the body with his cell phone and uploaded it to his Facebook page. Eventually he lost his EMT license and given 200 hours of community service.


Facebook has refused to remove the images. A stark contrast from the Fogel Family,huh? Putting aside the specific legal merits and their demands, here is what they want from Facebook.

"The suit wants Facebook to turn over the picture, identify those who viewed or downloaded it and destroy images in its possession. The lawsuit is also seeking a court mandate that Facebook cooperate with victims in the future."

Why the double standard? Why is an illegal image of a Staten Island murder victim protected by Facebook and the Fogel Family Massacre pictures scrubbed from the site? Is it just a simple question of dollars and cents? After all a 26 year old Jersey girl can't stir up historic hatreds in millions can it? Facebook refuses to show photos after family and nation approve, but those who are appalled that their mangled daughter's body is there for all to see are ignored? Appalling.

This is all the more intriguing as Facebook also has ignored protests over this page:

 

This little gem ask you to support the "Third Palestinian Intifada". Yid With Lid has a great post on this doozy of a story.

In my mind it is reasonable for public venues like Facebook to restrict graphic imagery, especially crime scene  photos, but it seems quite evident that there is at best inconsistent application and at worst the gravest of hypocrisy, driven by raw politics and market share. Facebook ought to see justice done and acede to the Wimmer's demands.