Dean Clifford, a man with the rare genetic skin condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), has been subjected to online abuse after posting a photo of himself and his mother at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Facebook and Instagram.
The social media post was flooded with hateful comments about his appearance, with some users likening him to “horror characters” and others “saying that I should be dead.” Clifford told 7NEWS he has been receiving a social media notification every 30 seconds since the post, mostly from trolls.
Adding to the distress, Meta AI generated a prompt for users asking “what’s the story behind the zombie costume?” when viewing the image. Clifford, who has used social media to raise awareness about EB and as a platform for his motivational speaking, is now reconsidering his approach to online engagement.
Clifford is believed to be one of the oldest people in the world with EB, having outlived his childhood doctor’s prediction that he would not live past age five by 40 years. The recent abuse has brought back “childhood memories of people that have been afraid of my appearance,” he said.
Meta issued an apology, stating: “We’re sorry to hear about Mr Clifford’s experience and sincerely apologise for any distress caused. These prompts were generated automatically and may not always produce the results intended.” The company added that it takes the matter seriously and encourages users to report inappropriate AI-generated content.
