Mom Says Instagram Removed Photo of Her Son With Rare Disorder

A U.K. mom blasted Instagram for allegedly removing a photo of her 12-year-old son who has a facial deformity.

Charlie Beswick frequently posts photos on Instagram of her twins, Oliver and Harry — who was born with Goldenhar syndrome, meaning he has no left eye, eye socket, nostril or left ear.

Harry normally wears a prosthetic eye (he also has a prosthetic ear), but Beswick posted one photo of him on Sept. 10 without it. Another user reported the photo as inappropriate and it was taken down two days later.

When Beswick noticed the photo was missing, she complained on Twitter, writing, “Someone is reporting my son’s face & #Instagram agree saying it doesn’t meet their guidelines before removing it. RT to support me in this!” She also added, “I am disgusted beyond words! How many crude & inapt images are circulating and THIS one of love gets removed?? #Instagram sort this out”

The angry mom’s post has been retweeted more than 63,000 times and after Instagram received several complaints on her behalf, the photo was reposted at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12.

Once the photo was restored, Beswick shared another photo with a message both for supporters and haters: “What do you see when you look at my boy? I see the most beautiful smile, wonderful heart & purest love. Sadly, as feared, an image of Harry with his eye missing was removed from Instagram for the second time. I have been overwhelmed by the support on twitter asking Instagram to explain why and IG have now reinstated the image. No explanation or apology! I’m glad to have my boys image back where it belongs but still feel that the ‘guidelines’ that my son’s face didn’t meet need changing. This face matters. Thanks to all who continue to support us. It means the world.”

While she’s glad to see her photo reposted, the mom isn’t totally satisfied with the way the social media platform handled her situation.

“Had they taken 30 seconds to look at the image they would see it was really well received and a high engagement post for them,” she said. “I felt quite offended, quite confused,” Beswick told Fox News.

Instagram’s community guidelines remove photos deemed “inappropriate for a diverse audience,” but this rule applies mainly to posts depicting nudity, bullying, crime or terrorism.

“We mistakenly removed the photo, but quickly restored it as soon as the mistake was brought to our attention,” an Instagram spokeswoman said. “We have apologized to the family.”