Charlie Gard’s Parents and Supporters Say Facebook and Twitter Censoring Their Accounts

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jul 5, 2017   |   3:36PM   |   Washington, DC

Supporters who run two prominent social media pages for British infant Charlie Gard say they are being censored.

The people who organize the pages “Charlie’s army” on Facebook and @fight4charlie on Twitter said some of their posts have been blocked, and others who used the hashtag #SaveCharlieGard said their accounts were suspended, the Daily Mail reports. Still others said their messages of support were marked as “spam.”

Members of Charlie’s family appear to be the ones running the Twitter page, according to the Mirror.

“Twitter is censoring this page. Please head over to @charliesfight new page! And get tweeting like crazy! We need your help! #charliegard,” a post on @fight4charlie said Thursday morning.

Charlie is suffering from a rare disease, and his parents want to take him to the United States for an experimental treatment. His case gained international attention as his parents fought a series of court battles for their son, but ultimately lost.

Last week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against his parents’ appeal to take him to the U.S. A British court also ruled that his life support can be removed against his parents’ wishes.

Prayers and support for Charlie have been flooding in from across the world, including from Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump. Hundreds of people protested the court ruling in London over the weekend. Another protest is planned for this week.

Some supporters who had their accounts suspended said the social media sites did unlock their accounts after they complained.

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One Facebook user named Kayleigh Perry said her profile was suspended after she used a hashtag supporting Charlie.

“This won’t stop me,” Perry said.

Another social media user, Steve Green, said he wrote a note to friends about Charlie on social media, but it was blocked. Green said he received a message saying his note “doesn’t follow community standards.”

The Mirror reports what happened when its staff asked Twitter to comment:

Mirror Online repeatedly tried to contact Twitter for an official statement but the firm declined to comment.

It instead referred us to its Twitter rules.

They state that Twitter does not censor tweets.

A source told MirrorOnline that Twitter’s robots might be automatically filtering some tweets repetitively using the same hashtag – especially given the sheer number of people tweeting #charliegard worldwide since the intervention of Donald Trump and the Pope.

Charlie suffers from a rare mitochondrial disease and brain damage. His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, raised more than $1 million to pay for his medical care. However, Charlie’s parents now have exhausted their legal options as court after court has denied them the ability to pursue potentially life-saving care and medical treatment for their son.

A U.S. doctor and a Catholic hospital in Italy both offered to care for Charlie if he can be transferred.

Last week, the high court ruled against them and will not permit them to seek alternative treatments for their son, according to The Guardian.

The judges said they did not think Charlie would benefit from the experimental treatment, and it could cause him greater pain and suffering.

His parents said they are “heartbroken.” They said they are not even allowed to take him home.

On Monday, Charlie’s mother posted a message on Twitter saying that they have not completely given up.

“If he’s still fighting, we’re still fighting!!!” she wrote.