Nationwide, social media giant Meta is facing widespread criticism for allowing, and even rewarding, disturbing animal abuse content on its platform, Facebook. Videos showing the extreme abuse of macaque monkeys have remained online for weeks despite clear violations of Meta’s own content policies.
The Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC), a network of more than 30 animal protection organizations including World Animal Protection, reported that two Facebook pages have been uploading violent monkey abuse videos at an alarming rate. In one video titled “Baby Learns to Swim,” a baby macaque is forcibly submerged in water, clearly struggling to breathe. Other videos show monkeys being slapped, choked, and mistreated, often with positive viewer reactions and disturbing comments encouraging the abuse.
Despite reporting these videos through Facebook’s channels, SMACC says the platform has failed to act. In one case, Facebook reviewed and refused to remove a video showing a baby monkey nearly drowning.
Even more alarming, Meta awarded one of the abusive accounts a Creator Badge, a reward typically reserved for content that meets Facebook’s standards for quality, originality, and integrity. The badge requires weekly video posts to stay active, effectively encouraging more abusive content for profit and engagement.
“The videos are vile. It is deeply disturbing that people are creating and engaging with content that clearly depicts animal abuse and cruelty,” said Tricia Croasdell, CEO of World Animal Protection. “Meta and all social media platforms must take responsibility by shutting down these content creators and sending a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated.”
This is not an isolated incident. Facebook has previously been identified as a major platform for monkey torture content. In 2023, SMACC’s report “The cruelty you don’t see” found Facebook to be the worst offender for sharing monkey abuse videos, with deliberate physical torture being the most common theme.
In 2024, a BBC Three investigation revealed a global network of monkey abusers using platforms like Facebook and Telegram to coordinate abuse and exchange money. Some perpetrators, like Peter Stanley in the UK, have faced criminal prosecution.
Despite Meta’s written ban on animal cruelty, its enforcement has been inconsistent and ineffective. Advocacy groups are demanding an urgent overhaul of Meta’s content moderation systems, and a clear, zero-tolerance stance against animal abuse.
If you see a video showing animal cruelty on Facebook, take action—but do it wisely. Report the video through Facebook’s tools to flag it, then document it with screenshots and notify animal protection groups or local authorities. Don’t like, comment, or share the post, doing so only boosts its visibility and gives the abuser exactly what they want: more attention. Instead, help shut it down by quietly reporting it and pushing for Meta to take real responsibility for harmful content.
