Facebook Sorry for Rejecting Ad Over ‘Gory’ Photo of Infant

Hudson Azera Bond is only two months old, but the infant is already fighting for his life. Diagnosed with a heart condition known as cardiomyopathy when he was just seven days old, Hudson needs a vital heart transplant, which his family is attempting to raise money for through a Facebook page called Hudson’s Heart. Hudson’s father, Kevin Bond, even attempted to boost traffic to the page — and the cause — by purchasing a $20 paid ad from the social networking site.

But Facebook initially rejected the ad, issuing a form response last weekend that deemed the accompanying photo of Hudson — who is hooked up to multiple machines and tubes — as “scary, gory, or sensational and evokes a negative response.” Unsurprisingly, the family was incredibly “hurt” by the company’s description of their son.

Facebook, which isn’t new to photo controversies, has since reversed the decision and a representative even called the Bond family to personally apologize. When questioned about the original decision, Facebook told Yahoo Health in a statement: “This was a mistake on our part, and the ad has been re-approved. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused the family.”

In a post on the Hudson’s Heart Facebook page, Kevin Bond, wrote on Wednesday:

Meanwhile, the Bonds are still trying to raise money for Hudson’s heart transplant, which is likely to be one of many. “When you implant a heart into a kid this age, it’s not going to last,” Kevin told Yahoo. “By the time he’s in his 20s he will probably have had four transplants.”