Backlash forces Facebook to revoke photo ban of baby boy who was born without a nose

The social media network deemed the photo to be too shocking

Timothy Eli Thompson was born three weeks premature without a nose (Facebook)

Facebook came under fire after it banned a photo of a baby that was born without a nose because the image was thought to be “too controversial”.

The photo of Timothy Eli Thompson – who has no nasal passages or sinus cavities – was taken down after it was used by a pro-life campaign group to publicise his story.

Eli was born premature on 4 March. Despite his condition, which is so rare that it only has one in a 197 million chance of happening, he is healthy.

He had a tracheotomy five days after he was born and stayed in hospital for three weeks before being allowed to go home.

His parents Brandi McGlathery, 23, and Troy Thompson – from Summerdale, Alabama – did not have any idea that he would be born without a nose as all ultrasound scans showed that he had no abnormalities.

Brandi, who also has Brysen and Ava, both four, wrote on Facebook: “Excuse my language, but I’ll be damned if Facebook keeps me from sharing my baby’s story!

“It sickens me that I can see pictures of half naked women, drugs, & negativity, but my child is too ‘controversial’. What has happened to humanity?”

Eli's parents giving him a bath soon after he was born (Facebook)

The story about the photo ban was shared more than 30,000 times in the space of six hours and the high number of complaints forced Facebook to reconsider their decision.

For Eli, doctors hope that he could undergo invasive major surgery in his teenage years if he opts to have a nose or he could have a series of small surgeries from the age of one.

“I just hope that he’s happy either way, whether he decides, you know, when the times comes that he does want a nose or not, I just want him to be happy and to be happy with himself,” said Brandi, according to WKRG.