Can Facebook make live video its future?
Facebook Live makes everyone a broadcaster. But with content ranging from laughing mums to rape and murder, how can it manage the risks of open publishing?
What is Facebook Live?
Facebook has been steadily pushing people to use its live streaming product, which was launched in 2015 but slowly rolled out to all users over the course of 2016. As a pitch, it's simple: load the Facebook app, point your camera at anything and broadcast, live, to your friends and followers around the world.
Does anyone really want to watch what their Facebook friends are doing, live?
Some do, it seems. The service's first viral hit came in May 2016, when 37-year-old Texan mum Candace Payne used the feature to demonstrate a Chewbacca mask she had bought for her son. Payne tries on the mask, which makes the Star Wars character's roaring sound when she opens her mouth - and bursts into laughter. The laughter makes more roaring, which causes more laughter, and so on. The four-minute video has had 166m views.