Unable to film today's US House of Representatives sit-in to force a vote on gun control, C-SPAN used live streams from Facebook Live and Periscope.
House and Senate rules prohibit shooting live video in the chambers, so C-SPAN typically uses feeds from the official cameras that record proceedings when either house of Congress is in session. (It has made repeated requests to multiple House speakers to bring its own cameras, all of which have been denied).
The sit-in began around 11:30 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, shortly after the House entered a recess and official cameras were turned off. So C-SPAN has alternated between on-air broadcasts of Periscope and Facebook Live videos from Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Scott Peters, among others.
Members of the House aren't supposed to record their own videos either; in fact, House Speaker Paul Ryan has the authority to end the entire sit-in by clearing the floor and sanctioning members under rules that afford him the power "to preserve order and decorum."
As of 5 p.m. Eastern time, the sit-in was still in progress, with Periscope and Facebook videos showing some members on the floor while others gave speeches at the podium near the front of the gallery.
Rep. O'Rourke, of Texas, had more than 2,000 viewers on his Facebook Live stream. Rep. Peters, of California, recorded a series of Periscope videos throughout the day, including one that was approximately 45 minutes long.
Live video on Facebook and Twitter has exploded in popularity in recent months, with Facebook reportedly paying some media companies and celebrities millions of dollars to upload live footage.
Today's activity caught the eye of Periscope's CEO:
We may not have Chewbaca, but we have democracy https://t.co/dKDPTIa7Oa — Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) June 22, 2016