Slowly but surely, inquiries about this clickbait veteran are trickling in again.

This is a photo of a baby who has a red tumor on the right side of his face.

It was misused countless times for clickbait campaigns and sent as a chain letter through social networks.

It's about this photo (an unpixelated version is circulating on the Internet):

Screenshot by mimikama.org / Source: Ettore family
Screenshot by mimikama.org / Source: Ettore family

The story about it:

The more you share the picture, the more Facebook would donate to the family. Bullshit, because the photo is from 2005 and the boy is doing well today - and he's got rid of his blood problem.

Unfortunately, the stories surrounding this baby remain legendary. Countless discussions took place about what illness the boy was suffering from, including even declaring him dead.

The fact check

We're thinking about the year 2012 - that was the year in which we started researching this picture, but first of all we'll answer the question of whether that's true...

Of course it is NOT . This baby does not have cancer, nor does Facebook donate money for his treatment.

What's really behind it:

Here we see a baby photo of Samuel. He was born in Vietnam, was in an orphanage there and was adopted by an American family from California.

The photo was taken by an employee of the orphanage because the family itself does not own the original photo.

It was first published on the Internet in 2007.

Samuel never suffered from cancer, but rather this tumor was a blood sponge that was removed with several facial surgical operations. In 2014, Samuel received laser treatments.

Wait, 2014?

Correct. Samuel is now 13 years old, is in excellent health and is no longer a baby for whom money is supposedly being collected.

Exclusive interview with the Ettore family

In 2014 we were given the opportunity to conduct an interview with the affected family.

So if you want to know exactly. Here's the interview again, which confirms that this boy doesn't have cancer, is no longer a baby and that they didn't receive a single cent from Facebook:

The interview

(The interview was in English. At this point we are allowed to publish the translation here)

Mimikama / ZDDK: We have known the photo that shows your son for a long time. Do you know when this photo was first published?

Hope Ettore: This photo first appeared on Facebook in January 2012. However, we know that this image has been circulating on the Internet since 2007. I found it on websites all over the world and also successfully had it removed from sites in Saudi Arabia, Norway, Sri Lanka, USA, etc.

Mimikama / ZDDK: If you didn't put this picture online, do you know where the picture came from and who took it?

Hope Ettore: The publisher must be someone close to the orphanage in Vietnam, because we (as his parents) don't even own the photo. The photo was taken in the orphanage.

Mimikama / ZDDK: The photo regularly gets the subtitle that this baby has cancer. Briefly and expressly for the readers: Is it true that Samuel did not have a cancerous tumor, but rather a hemoptysis?

Hope Ettore: Samuel never had cancer. This type of tumor was a vascular tumor which is also called hemangioma. He has had to undergo several facial surgeries and still receives laser treatments today.

Mimikama / ZDDK: Then we assume that Samuel's life is not in danger, as the picture suggests. How is Samuel doing today or how old is Samuel?

Hope Ettore: Samuel is now NINE years old and he is doing really well. He has a wonderful character and is doing well at school. All of his teachers like him very much and he makes us laugh every day too.

Mimikama / ZDDK: What do you say about Facebook users spreading falsehoods about this photo in order to get “likes”?

Hope Ettore: These entire experiences were extremely stressful and painful.
When you don't have control over a situation that your child is caught in, it puts a lot of stress on you and you feel powerless. It was particularly annoying when we saw this image on Facebook pages that were misusing it to get likes and shares for their stupid (and often vile) pages. Plus, some of the comments people leave are always just hurtful or rude. It was also very annoying that even after months of pleading, Facebook refused to intervene in any way and delete the photo, even though we know full well that they have the opportunity and are fully capable of doing so.

Mimikama / ZDDK: We are very sorry for this unpleasant situation. Samuel probably doesn't remain unaffected by this either. Does Samuel know that his picture can be seen on Facebook?

Hope Ettore: When he was just seven years old, at the time when the picture first appeared (note: on Facebook), it was truly a difficult circumstance for him to understand what was going on. He knew he was on TV and in the newspapers and whatever it was about, but attempts to explain to him why these people were doing this were virtually impossible because the whole thing seemed so pointless and bizarre.

Mimikama / ZDDK: That is completely understandable and we hope that we can appeal to the reason of the users with these sentences. As a final statement: What do you and/or Samuel want to say to those users who post this photo on Facebook?

Hope Ettore: If these people would just stop for a moment and use their brains - I mean really use them: Do you REALLY believe that Facebook gives money to sick children for likes and shares?
Does that really make sense? People often think: “Oh, who should it hurt?” But I can tell you exactly who it hurts: it is the child and the family that suffers from this madness. Behind every photo of a sick child there is a story and a family that is deeply saddened by the fact that they are left powerless to watch their child being used for the entertainment of others. I think people should practice more “social media responsibility” and do at least a little research before sharing ANYTHING. I myself DO NOT share ANYTHING without questioning it first.

It's been a little over two years now and this photo is still floating around on Facebook. We gave up the fight after 6 grueling months of no sleep and constant resistance. We hired a lawyer to force Facebook to take down the images, but he advised against suing because taking Facebook to court would ruin us financially. So we gave up. It's hard to make sense of it all. However, we believe that the most important thing is to see Samuel healthy, happy and free of cancer. He lives with a family that loves him and he is thriving.

Thank you for wanting to help us. Kind regards, Hope Ettore and family

Hope Ettore and family / Source: Ettore family
Hope Ettore and family / Source: Ettore family

Thanks so much for helping us. Sincerely, Hope Ettore and Family

Dear Ettore family, ZDDK / Mimikama.at would like to thank you very much for this exclusive interview and wish you all a healthy and happy future!

Result:

Anyone who has read the interview should please not distribute this photo any further!

As Mrs. Ettore said, there is a story behind every picture. Especially when it comes to photos of sick children.

So if you come across this picture on Facebook, DO NOT share!


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )