By Canadian Press

Facebook takes down anti-vaxxer page that used falsified image of girl who died

May 15, 2019 | 7:00 AM

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The mother of a young Newfoundland girl says she’s relieved a social media company has disabled a site that used images of her dead daughter to promote an anti-vaccination campaign.

Holly Denine recently came across a Facebook page displaying a photo of her daughter Nevaeh Denine, with text that falsely stated her death was related to vaccines.

The girl, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at an early age, was well known in Newfoundland and Labrador for starting a lemonade stand to raise money for children with cancer.

She died from her illness last summer at just nine years of age and was remembered her courage and selflessness.

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A spokesman for Facebook said late Tuesday that the social media company has disabled the anti-vaccination page, apologizing for any distress that was caused.

The social media giant says the site was disabled for violating the company’s community standards for misrepresentation.

Denine said her daughter had used social media for positive purposes to raise thousands of dollars for sick children.

However, she says she had long been worried that someone might exploit her daughter’s photo to raise money.

“I hope it never happens again,” she wrote in an email Tuesday.

“I only ever want Nevaeh associated with kindness and caring, not this cruel garbage. And that’s what it is, garbage.”

– by Michael Tutton in Halifax.

The Canadian Press