Dean Clifford, a 43-year-old Australian motivational speaker, recently became a victim of an online tirade of hateful comments after sharing a selfie from a rugby game.
On May 1, Clifford posted a picture of himself and his mother, Jenny Clifford, from the stands of Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
The comment section was quickly flooded with reactions targeting Clifford's appearance, who suffers from a rare skin disease. The vitriol was made worse by a caption by Meta AI, considered by viewers to be insensitive.
Highlights
- Dean Clifford, an Australian man who lives with a genetic skin condition that affects nearly a million worldwide, was trolled online for his appearance.
- A prompt by Meta’s AI bot further fueled the venom, for which the tech giant later publicly apologized.
- Clifford later opened up on the experience, detailing how the negativity and aggression impacted him.
“Are you the football they used last game?” read one of the comments on his Instagram post.
Clifford put the trolls in their place with an uplifting message of his own.
Meta AI’s offensive prompt under Dean Clifford’s selfie sparked online hatred
Image credits: Dean Clifford/Facebook
Dean Clifford, a fan of Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), attended a Round 7 game on Friday with his mother.
“Don’t tell anyone but Mum and I are at the Dolphins v Storm game!” he wrote in the caption of his and Jenny’s selfie, making a joke about his lifelong affinity with the Brisbane Broncos.
The photo captured Clifford’s genetic skin condition, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a group of rare, painful issues causing extremely fragile, blistering skin that tears from minor friction or trauma.
Image credits: Dean Clifford/Facebook
“A hug, loving rub on the back, or diaper change can injure the skin, leading to blisters and open wounds,” says the American Academy of Dermatology about the disease.
While the initial comments from his usual followers were friendly and positive, the barrage of negative comments started when Meta’s AI bot shared the photo with a prompt that read, “What’s the story behind the zombie costume?”
Some viewers compared his appearance to movie villains, while others made jokes at his expense.
Image credits: 7NEWS Brisbane
“Bro needs some Shea butter,” one user wrote. Another said, “Vader, can you hear me?” referring to the Star Wars antagonist Darth Vader, whose real face was disfigured and burned before he became the franchise’s mechanical menace.
“There were suggestions that I should not exist, suggestions of doing other very despicable things,” Clifford told 4BC Brisbane.
However, not all comments were negative. Clifford received a wave of support from netizens, who praised his courage and called out the detractors.
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“You are an absolute inspiration,” one such comment read. “I saw this on the news, and it makes me so upset that so many people are so cruel. Don’t let people who have nothing good to say wreck the awareness you share about EB.”
“Everyone loves ya mate,” said another. “Ignore the hate, they are just miserable people.”
Dean Clifford’s public statement pushed Meta to apologize for the AI blunder
Image credits: 7NEWS Brisbane
After Dean Clifford’s photo was bombarded with hateful comments, he addressed the situation with a follow-up post, calling out Meta for the AI bot’s prompt.
“Thanks, Facebook #METAAI for sharing my photo without my consent and tagging me the way I look, the way you did,” he said in his post. “It just goes to highlight why Facebook is quickly becoming completely irrelevant in real life.”
“But to the thousands of you who thought they were being smart or having fun at my expense here’s something you may not be aware of,” Clifford added. “I have been bullied and picked on since I was 2yrs old.”
“I hear all the whispers behind my back. I have had people try to fight me because they thought I was the weakest link. I have even had people threaten to k*ll me in the past. Let me be clear. I do not care what you think of me.”
“You think you can sit behind your keyboard and your comments are going to impact my life,” he continued. “Come say it directly to my face. Go on. I DARE YOU.”
“Enjoy your pathetic small life in your parents basement or your childhood bedroom. I will continue to travel the world and live life to its absolute fullest and have a kicka*s time doing it!”
Image credits: FinanceCari
Image credits: Dean Clifford/Facebook
On May 5, spoke with 7NEWS Brisbane, revealing that several of the comments likened his appearance to “horror characters” while others said he “should be de*d.”
When asked to send a message to Meta, he simply answered in two words: “Do better.”
After the news broke, Meta publicly apologized, blaming the AI’s in-built technicalities for the mishap.
Image credits: Dean Clifford/Facebook
“We’re sorry to hear about Mr. Clifford’s experience and sincerely apologize for any distress caused,” the apology read. “These prompts were generated automatically and may not always produce the results intended.”
“We take this matter seriously and constantly seek feedback on our AI products and models to make them better over time. People can report AI-generated content they find inappropriate with our in-app reporting tools.”
Doctors predicted Dean Clifford wouldn’t live to see his fifth birthday
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While mild forms of EB require little to no treatment, severe forms of the condition, as Dean Clifford has, can be fatal in infancy and early childhood due to infection, fluid loss, and malnutrition.
According to the National Epidermolysis Bullosa Registry, EB is estimated to occur in 20 newborns per one million live births in the United States. While the exact number is unclear, Stanford Medicine states that around 25,000-50,000 people in the USA have EB.
The rare condition affects roughly 500,000 to 1 million people worldwide, according to a 2011 study published in PubMed Central. Around 40% of sufferers do not survive the first year in severe cases, and most do not live beyond five years old.
Image credits: Dean Clifford/Facebook
Doctors said the same about him when he was only 18 months old, Clifford shared with News.com.au. But he lived to see his fifth birthday, and then defied the odds for forty more years.
“My skin is so fragile that it will tear if I hold something the wrong way or open a soft drink bottle,” he told the outlet. “I use tools like scalpels, needles, and scissors to cut away the de*d skin before applying ointments and dressing the damaged area.”
Clifford was wheelchair-bound when he was offered the chance to carry the 2000 Sydney Olympics torch. Determined to take up the opportunity, he taught himself to walk in six months.
As for the recent online vitriol, Clifford said it was an “eye-opening experience” but at the same time, “nothing unusual.”
“Over the years, I have had people suggest self-h*rm and comments passing threats on innocent photos of me,” he offered.
"People don't have any compassion anymore." The internet had Dean Clifford's back amid online trolling
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