Sunderland mum’s anguish after disabled son is sent online abuse
Mother has a ‘stomach ache’ after trolls launched a nefarious social media hate campaign against her severely disabled five-year-old son.
Billie-Jo Hargrave, 24, began receiving messages in December viciously insulting Dainton, who suffers from microcephaly, a condition that causes cerebral hemorrhages.
She reported an account called “Smith C” for mocking Dainton.X appearance and disabilityBut facebook supposedly not removed.
The profile was only deleted after Billie-Jo informed them that she had reported them to the police.
But the trolling continued on TikTok and Snapchat, with offensive posts featuring photos of Dainton, as well as “malicious” derogatory comments.
Billie-Jo said, “These comments are vile, disgusting and disgusting for a helpless five year old boy.”
– I’m sick of them. Dainton suffers enough and doesn’t need it from above.
“He plays a big role in everyone’s life and my family is outraged by what happened.
“A few weeks ago, Dainton stopped breathing and was not responding, and now he is constantly on oxygen. Every day I have it is a blessing. Sometimes I think that if I lost it, whoever is doing this would still be sending these messages?”
Dainton’s condition has left him blind, dependent on supplemental oxygen, and unable to sit without support.
Billie-Jo said, “I can’t think of any reason why anyone would do this. Everything was quiet for a couple of months, and then it started again.
“The first time I was furious, but now I just think, when will it end and will they continue on? I can’t help but think that all these accounts are linked.”
TikTok said it had removed troll accounts and emphasized that “such behavior has no place on our platform.”
Although these accounts have been deleted, including on Snapchat, Billy-Jo is understandably still angry.
She said, “There has to be something else to get these accounts up and running because it happens all too often.”
“You must provide some form of identification that you are actually setting up these accounts.
“There should be increased account controls and some form of automatic blocking or alerting when certain types of language are used.”
Facebook responded by citing global laws that prevent them from “actively viewing people’s direct messages” and there is an app system in place to report concerns.
A spokesperson for Snapchat stated, “Using Snapchat to send offensive messages of any kind is against our policies, and we expressly prohibit bullying and harassment of any kind.”
“If Snapchat users witness or experience this behavior on the app, we encourage them to report it immediately using our in-app reporting tools so we can investigate and take action.”
Northumbria Police have confirmed that the incidents are under investigation.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of alleged hate crimes linked to social media accounts. The investigation into the reports is ongoing.”
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