Angry mum slams dead baby jokes on Facebook (From Echo)

Angry mum slams dead baby jokes on Facebook

6:00am Sunday 5th August 2012 in News By Chloe Chapman

A DISTRESSED mum has launched a campaign to get an offensive Facebook group closed down. Stacey Butler, 23, of Silverdale Avenue, Westcliff , was horrified when she stumbled across Dead Baby Jokes. The group, which encourages members to post offensive jokes with no boundaries on bad taste, racism or religion, has more than 30,000 likes. Miss Butler, who has three and two- year-old sons, said: “It kept coming up on my Facebook feed because so many people were clicking on it. “Most people are just going on it to have a look, like I did, but because of that, it seems like it’s a really popular group. Everyone I’ve spoken to is disgusted by it.” On the description page, its unknown founders explain: “Dead Baby Jokes contains highly-offensive humour and should not be viewed by individuals who are easily offended by tasteless humour. “We here at Dead Baby Jokes take the safety of your children to heart, and do not, in any way, condone the killing of babies, or any other manner in which harm could come to a child.” As well as a stream of abortion and miscarriage jokes, the Facebook page has also been inundated with comments from angry posters. Miss Butler is calling for other parents across south Essex to follow in her footsteps by reporting offensive material to Facebook administrators. She said: “Loads of my friends and I have reported it, but nothing has been done. We just need to get the message out there about how horrible this group is. “The things that have been posted are so vile. It is really upsetting for mums and dads, especially those who have lost their children.” In a statement, Facebook said: “We take our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities very seriously and react quickly to remove reported content that violates our policies. “In general, groups devoted to jokes, even disgusting and distasteful ones, do not violate our policies. Where these groups make real threats or statements of hate, however, we will remove them.”