22/11/2015

Nope, BBC News: You Got It Wrong

I stumbled upon this BBC News story about Hollie Gazzard and had to read it twice. I'm sorry to report that even in my third reading, the errors were still there: 
  • "was stabbed to death in Gloucester earlier this year" - nope, she was killed in 2014, not 2015.
  • "If you die, a relative or friend can request for your Facebook profile to become memorialised" - nope, anyone can report a death to Facebook, not just a friend or a family member. It can be a complete stranger (which is part of the problem).
    I know the link says "a family member or friend" but at no point are you required to provide any proof of being a friend or a family member - hence the ability of anyone to fill up this form.
  • "Whoever requests it will have to give Facebook some proof that you have died, such as a death certificate" - nope, for requesting to memorialise an account you don't need to present a death certificate, only "a link to or copy of an obituary or other documentation about the death". You're requested to prove that you're a family member and to provide a death certificate only if you're asking to remove a profile altogether - not if you're only trying to have it memorialised. 
BBC News staff - and other media - please feel free to contact me in the future with Digital Death related items - preferably before publication.  



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