Kevin Bond, a photographer based out of North Carolina, runs a Facebook page for his infant son Hudson. He was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy of an unknown origin when he was only seven days old.
Hudson is currently awaiting a heart transplant. He's being kept alive via an artificial heart at the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Duke Children's Hospital.
"We turned to Facebook to help raise awareness of the need for pediatric organ donations," Bond told BuzzFeed News. "And to raise funds for transplant related expenses."
Earlier this week, Bond tried to boost a Facebook ad for his son's page. He's run ad campaigns on Facebook without a problem in the past.
Facebook said the photos of Bond's son were too gory or negative:
"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.
Before resubmitting your ad, please visit the Help Center to learn more and see examples of ads that meet our guidelines."
"Of all the garbage they endlessly peddle over the internet, a picture of my son is where they draw the line," Bond said. "What is offensive about the attached picture of my Son?"
After posting the story on Hudson's Facebook page, the Bond family has received support from all over the Internet.
But the family has yet to hear from Facebook about why the photos of their son were deemed inappropriate for an ad.
Also, as Opposing Views pointed out, Facebook seems to have unclear rules about what kind of content it will promote.
This week a video of two men lighting a kitten on fire surfaced on Facebook. Users were outraged and reported the video for animal cruelty. Facebook moderators refused to take the video down, saying that it didn't violate their community standards.
"This was a mistake on our part, and the ad has been re-approved. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused the family," a spokesperson for Facebook told BuzzFeed.