Controversial: The Facebook group Dead Babies Make Me Laugh contains a disclaimer which states: This group is not breaking any FB rules
A Facebook site where internet users share jokes about dead children has been branded 'sick'. The group titled 'Dead babies make me laugh' has provoked outrage and prompted parents who have lost children to slam the company for refusing to pull the plug on the forum.
In response, a Facebook spokesman said: 'What one person finds offensive, another can find entertaining. Just as telling a dead baby joke won't get you thrown out of your local pub, it won't get you thrown off Facebook.'
Suzanne McDermont, 20, who has had to cope with the loss of two children, was stunned when she found the group.
The controversial page, which has 146 members, calls on people to share vile jokes on the topic.
But parents and children's charities have hit out at those behind the group and continue to call on Facebook to take it down.
Suzanne, of Sunderland, said: 'When I saw it, I just sat there and cried and cried because I lost my two sons as babies and it hurts.
'There's a lot of sick stuff on there and when I'm reading it, it's really upsetting for me because it's something close to my heart.'
Now Suzanne, whose first son Jake was stillborn in 2007 after her placenta ruptured and second, Ethan, died at 30 hours after being born premature in October 2008, has joined the fight for the group to be banned and the page pulled.
She said: 'I reported it straight away to Facebook and asked them to take it down because it's sick and I don't know how anyone can do this.'
Kayleigh Solomon, whose son Alfie died earlier this year at just five-weeks-old, has also hit out at the site and those behind it.
The 23-year-old, also of Sunderland, said: 'I think it's disgusting that people out there are that nasty and cruel to say things like this. They don't know what parents have been through.'
Liz Matthews, of Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society), added: 'I think it's absolutely disgusting. Anybody who does that has no thoughts for the feelings of the parents who have had to bury their children.
'To have gone through the pain of losing a child makes you feel helpless.'
A string of groups has already been set up on Facebook urging the site to ban the group, with thousands already backing the call.
The group administrator warns anyone clicking on the site of the content, saying: 'If you or anyone you know has recently lost a child, sorry for your loss but nobody is forcing you to come onto the group.
'This group is not breaking any Facebook rules, you can't just go around banning everything that you don't agree with.'
But Facebook today said the group does not violate its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and it will not be taken down.
A spokesman said: 'We want Facebook to be a place where people can openly discuss issues and express their views, while respecting the rights and feelings of others.
'With now more than 500 million people around the world with varying opinions and ideals using Facebook as a place to discuss and share things that are important to them, we sometimes find people discussing and posting about controversial topics.
'It is very important to point out that what one person finds offensive, another can find entertaining. Just as telling a dead baby joke won't get you thrown out of your local pub, it won't get you thrown off Facebook.'
source : kompas.com
