Ronnie McNutt Reportedly, the 33-year-old Mississippi Army veteran serving in Iraq shot himself in the head live on Facebook, and social media sites are still struggling to remove sad images that went viral more than a week ago.
Ronnie McNutt, who works at a Toyota plant in Blue Springs, New Albany, killed himself in front of his computer during a Facebook live broadcast on August 31, the Daily Star reported.
There were unconfirmed reports that McNutt lost his job and broke up with his girlfriend.
Since then, the horrible images have been shared on many social media platforms, including TikTok, where the video-sharing app ended on the “For You” trend homepage.
A group of social media users stated that they had stumbled upon the clip and warned others to avoid watching the bearded vet commit suicide.
According to the Daily Star, a user on Twitter said,
“If you see this guy on your FYP [For You page], please just scroll up, it’s horrible and I definitely recommend you stay away from TikTok for a while.”
warning don’t watch it, because it’s so scary and bloody, so please BE CAREFUL I’m fucking shaking, ”another user said.
The man’s friends also sent messages conveying their futile attempts to prevent him from taking his life.
According to Sun, someone wrote,
“Say a prayer to the Ronnie McNutt family right now”.
Another said,
I tried, but apparently it wasn’t quick enough to get to him.
McNutt was a member of the Tupelo Celebration Church, who confirmed his death on his Facebook page, the Daily Star reported.
“In the midst of a sudden tragedy that occurred last night, we feel upset with the McNutt Family during this time because Ronnie McNutt, our brother in Christ,” said.
Ronnie McNutt Cause Of Death
Ronnie McNutt’s friend Josh Steen talks about the tragic video showing McNutt’s death and the failure of social media platforms to take it down. On August 31, 33-year-old McNutt died by suicide and posted his death on Facebook Live.
In the days after his death, the video was shared on various social media platforms, especially TikTok, prompting many people to warn the user about its presence.
Now, Steen shares details about the circumstances surrounding his friend’s death, and says Facebook hasn’t done enough to prevent McNutt’s death being posted online or to remove disturbing content about McNutt’s death since then. “Facebook could and did not stop this,” Steen said in an interview with Heavy. He said Facebook was “directly responsible” for the video that was posted online and went viral.
Steen said,
“Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms can ban accounts, IPs and stop the dissemination of this video. YouTube may flag you for using two seconds of a copyrighted song, but it can’t filter out my friend who ended his life. It doesn’t make sense. ”
McNutt was an army veteran and lived in Mississippi. Steen said McNutt suffered from PTSD after touring the Iraq War. Steen and McNutt dealt with local theater and worked together on a podcast, JustUs Geeks. “He did not look like the same man who went to Iraq after his military service. I spent many nights in our studio via text message and personally talking to him about his life and his struggles.
Mental health problems are very very real and, to be honest, he is struggling with all areas of mental illness and without treatment. I think there are a lot of people who let it go. Or treat it with other things, it seems that, ”Steen said.
Video reported to Facebook
Steen said the video was first reported to Facebook while McNutt was alive. During Facebook Live, McNutt accidentally fired his gun wrongly, which was when Steen was notified by a friend of the situation and attended the live stream. “I started reporting the video stream while he was alive and speaking; no response from Facebook.” He also said that the police officers were called and they were standing outside McNutt’s apartment watching the live stream. Heavy reached out to the New Albany, Mississippi, police department for more information, but did not receive an immediate response.
After McNutt’s death, Steen said he continued to contact Facebook for hours to request the video’s removal. According to Steen, McNutt died at 22:30 by suicide and it was not until 11:51 pm. he said he got a response from the platform. According to a screenshot shared by Steen, Facebook’s response is partly as follows: “This post will remain on Facebook because we only remove content that violates our Community Standards. Our standards do not allow anything that encourages suicide or self-harm.”
Steen believed that Facebook had finally passed the 1:00 am when it removed the video, but by then the video was reintroduced in at least one private group.
What people are sharing on social media about Ronnie McNutt
In addition to his criticism of the social media platform’s response to the live stream, Steen also shared his disappointment with the comments posted on Facebook, especially in McNutt’s and his family’s accounts. “Trolls and bots were allowed to spam their entire family, even after their Facebook account was converted to a memorial account, because they don’t have access to their family’s account,” he said.
As an example, Steen pointed to McNutt’s last post on Facebook, an image with quotes that currently has over 5,700 comments. He explained that most of these comments include links to the video or explanations of where to find the video, or memes and pictures showing his friend’s suicide. McNutt’s friends repeatedly reported these comments, but “somehow THEY don’t seem against Facebook Standards, it seems essentially because Ronnie is already dead.”
Steen believes social media platforms like Facebook should do more in these situations. “If someone dies, much less chooses to take their own life, they should not be allowed to be publicly traded on social media like a GIF from” The Office “,” he says. The word “standards” makes sense and these social channels should be held legally responsible for the pain and suffering experienced by Ronnie’s family. ”
