Channel 4 News assigned a digital editor to make “judgement calls” on footage of the battle for Mosul, the broadcaster has said after it faced criticism for live streaming the conflict on Facebook.
The video footage, which gained more than 892,000 views, would have been shut down if necessary, said a spokesperson, who added people’s use of emojis was “part and parcel” of Facebook.
TV stations Al-Jazeera and Rudaw, a Kurdish news agency, also chose to live stream the ongoing joint military operation to liberate the Iraqi town from Islamic State control.
The Telegraph hosted the second day of the battle as a live stream on its website headlined: “Watch live: day two of the battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from Isil.”
Jon Laurence, digital editor of Channel 4 News, told the Guardian: “On live streaming the Mosul footage, we wanted to bring the one of the most significant stories of our time to our viewers as it happened. Given the nature of conflict – we are cautious and vigilant that the material is appropriate at all times and have measures in place to stop the stream when necessary.
“We apply the same editorial standards to Facebook Lives that we do to our award-winning programme and that means ensuring that they are effectively supervised at all times; this is the case with every new platform or format with which we engage.”
The stream was also shared on Youtube and Twitter.
One Twitter user said: “I’m not sure that I want to live in a world where I can live-stream conflict from my desk… #Mosul.”
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