Facebook keeps disturbing baby dunking video amid child abuse outcry

A disturbing video showing an infant being dunked in water and spun around by its limbs remains on Facebook despite public outcry that it depicts child abuse.

"Like others, we find the behavior in this video upsetting and disturbing," Facebook said in a statement to USA TODAY Network. However, the company has decided to keep it on the site because it raises awareness.

Facebook's policy is to remove violent or disturbing images when they are being celebrated, but to leave that content when it is being used to bring attention to a problem.

"In this case, we are removing any reported instances of the video from Facebook that are shared supporting or encouraging this behavior. In cases where people are raising awareness or condemning the practice, we are marking reported videos as disturbing, which means they have a warning screen and are accessible only to people over the age of 18," the statement said.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a child abuse prevention organization in the United Kingdom, criticized Facebook on its website for leaving the video online.

"We obviously have deep concerns for the baby and would hope that Facebook does all in its power to help trace whoever was responsible for this appalling incident. It's difficult to understand why such a dreadful film should have been posted and why Facebook allowed it to be viewed," NSPCC told USA TODAY Network in a statement.

However, there could be a benefit to having the video seen by lots of people, Christina Martinez, the public affairs director for Childhelp, a USA-based nonprofit that works to protect children from abuse, told USA TODAY Network.

"The more people you have seeing it, the more people you have talking about it, the more likely someone is to speak up," Martinez said. "From what I can tell here, this is being used as an advocacy tool."

"People want to know who this child is, where this child is and if the child is alive," she said.

Martinez called the video an example of abuse and victimization, but said it serves as a reminder to the public to be vigilant and report videos like this one to law enforcement immediately.

"We all have to be on high alert when we see these sorts of things on social media," she said.

At this time, it's unclear where the video originated or who is depicted in it. Facebook confirmed that they been in touch with law enforcement authorities about the video.

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