Facebook rejects fundraising ad for infant needing a heart transplant, tells dad his son is offensive

(NaturalNews) Social media giant Facebook was started as a way for people to interact in positive ways, but apparently that doesn't include allowing a concerned father to make emotional appeals on behalf of his ailing infant son.

According to various news reports, the North Carolina father's appeal on Facebook for his son, Hudson, who is in need of a heart transplant, was rejected by the social media behemoth as he attempted to boost the reach of his son's community page, Hudson's Heart, which he established as a way to raise the $75,000 needed for the transplant.

The New York Daily News reported:

Kevin Bond, whose 2-month-old son, Hudson Azera Bond, is in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at Duke Children's Hospital in Durham, N.C., used a photo of the baby with tubes taped to his mouth and nose while wrapped in an elephant blanket and surrounded by stuffed toys. Facebook rejected his $20 advertising purchase, citing the pic.

Compassion, apparently, is in short supply at the world's largest social media site, even as its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, lobbies lawmakers and President Obama to enact amnesty for illegal migrants he can then exploit.

A cold apology, a fundraising juggernaut

Bond, a North Carolina-based photographer, did not take the rejection without a response. In fact, he turned the tables on Facebook and called the company out on its own site.

"Facebook thinks my Son is offensive," Bond said in a Sept. 5 post on the Hudson Heart community page. "In an effort to get the word out about Hudson I occasionally pay a small amount to boost posts here on Hudson's Heart. Yesterday Facebook refused my $20.00 boost and sent the following:"

Reason(s): Your ad wasn't approved because the image or video thumbnail is scary, gory, or sensational and evokes a negative response. Images including accidents, car crashes, dead and dismembered bodies, ghosts, zombies, ghouls, and vampires are not allowed.

"What is offensive about this picture of my Son?" Bond wrote, adding that Facebook refused to engage him over the rejection.

"In Classic Facebook fashion the link they provided to appeal this decision doesn't work, and all efforts to contact them have failed," he wrote. "Facebook you should be ashamed of yourself. Of all the garbage you endlessly pedal over the Internet, a picture of my Son is where you draw the line? Disgusting."

The Daily News reported that outrage over the rejection of Bond's ad has done more to highlight his son's plight; so far, the family has raised more than $141,000, as of this writing, through the Children's Organ Transplant Association.

Since the story has broken, Facebook has apologized for its actions, Britain's Daily Mail reports. But Bond says that "fixes nothing," because his ad was "time sensitive."

"Further, the company still hasn't contacted me directly. Had I not read their half-hearted apology on the media I'd have no idea it existed," he told the Daily Mail.

Burning kittens is okay, though

In a statement, Facebook said: "This was a mistake on our part, and the ad has been re-approved. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused the family."

Bond responded, "I read Facebook's response on media outlets last night. They apologized for the inconvenience this caused my family. Inconvenience was never an issue. Having my beautiful son compared to dismembered bodies, vampires, zombies, etc hurt me, and my family."

Bond told local ABC 11 that he is confident that his son can survive, so long as he gets his transplant.

"I don't like to think of the odds in a negative way - I think he's going to make it," he said.

Hudson suffers from cardiomyopathy, a general term for heart disease.

Regarding Facebook's sporadic compassion, the Daily Mail further reported:

Earlier this week Facebook refused to remove a video of a kitten allegedly being doused in petrol and set on fire because the footage does not breach any of the social network's rules.

Sources:

http://www.nydailynews.com

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.fairus.org