Guy who Facebook Live-streamed his child's birth didn't realize he was doing so publicly
LatestThis week, a man in California shared the miracle of birth with the world. On Monday, Kali Kanongata’a turned on Facebook Live for 45 minutes while his partner Sarah Dome pushed a new life into the world.
You probably already know this: the story went viral. But now there are some new disturbing details about the stream. For one, Kanongata’a didn’t tell his partner that he was broadcasting the birth or get her permission.
“She kind of didn’t know about the live aspect, and I hinted to her that my cousin said ‘keep pushing’ and from that point on I figured that she knew she was on live ’cause I’m always doing something live,” Kanongata’a told CBS News.
Okay, that’s not cool. A word of advice to fathers-to-be: don’t “surprise” the mother of your child with a live broadcast of one of the most painful moments of her life. I reached out to Sarah Dome via Facebook to ask how she felt about this, but she hasn’t gotten back to me, probably because she’s taking care of a 2-day-old.
The second disturbing thing about the Facebook Live video is that Kanongata’a himself didn’t realize just how many people could watch it. “I thought it was just going to my family and friends!” he told People.
Kanongata’a says that when he noticed the number of viewers was in the thousands he considered stopping the recording “for a second” and then decided he would be happy to share his family’s joy with the world.
It’s since been viewed by over 200,000 people. Kanongata’a doesn’t seem too bothered, saying that he’s happy his son will be able to watch the video one day and “appreciate the story behind his life.” “My pain will become a blessing to him,” he told People.
It’s easy to imagine how someone would make the mistake on a smartphone in the midst of an emotional moment. But make sure you don’t make the same mistake. Should you decide to make a Facebook Live video, when you go to the Facebook mobile app and tap on status, make sure you change this setting from Public to some version of Not The Entire World.