Facebook said it removed 1.5 million videos globally of the New Zealand mosque attack in the first 24 hours after the attack.

"In the first 24 hours we removed 1.5 million videos of the attack globally, of which over 1.2 million were blocked at upload...," Facebook said in a tweet late Saturday.

The company said it is also removing all edited versions of the video that do not show graphic content out of respect for the people affected by the mosque shooting and the concerns of local authorities.

Copies of the distressing 17-minute live stream circulated online for hours after the terror attack that killed 50 people.

Hours after the attack, New Zealand police said they were working to have the footage removed while urging people not to share it.

Later Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern echoed the police's call, saying that citizens "should not be perpetuating, sharing, giving any oxygen to this act of violence and the message that is sitting behind it."

Meanwhile, the death toll in the New Zealand mosque shootings rose to 50 on Sunday. The gunman who attacked two mosques on Friday live-streamed the attacks on Facebook for 17 minutes using an app designed for extreme sports enthusiasts, with copies still being shared on social media hours later.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she wants to discuss live streaming with Facebook.