An Algerian court sentenced a man who dangled his baby cousin out of a 15th-floor window in the capital Algiers to two years in prison on Monday. 
 
 The defendant posted on Facebook a photo of him dangling the baby out of a window with the caption, “1000 likes or I will drop him.” The child appeared to be in a state of fear and bewilderment. 
 
 After watching the video, many Facebook users demanded that the man be tried on child abuse charges. 
 
 The defendant carried out the horrific act allegedly to gain a high number of views and likes on the social media site. 
 
 He alleges, however, that the picture was photoshopped. Speaking to Algeria's Ennahar news site, the man said that the balcony had protective bars that were removed by Facebook users in the viral image. 
 
 The court was not convinced by the man's explanation. 
 
 Last Update: Wednesday, 21 June 2017 KSA 09:59 - GMT 06:59 ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption The deaths took place at a deserted hotel in Phuket 
 
 A Thai man filmed himself killing his baby daughter on Facebook Live, before taking his own life, Thai police say. 
 
 The 21-year-old hanged his daughter, and then himself, at a deserted hotel in Phuket on Monday, reportedly after an argument with his wife. 
 
 Facebook sent condolences to the family for the "appalling" incident and said that the content had now been removed. 
 
 The company pledged a review of its processes after footage of a US killing stayed online for hours this month. 
 
 The footage of the Thai killing had also been available on video sharing website YouTube, but the company took it down after the BBC alerted it to its presence. 
 
 Social media anger 
 
 Relatives of the Thai man, Wuttisan Wongtalay, saw the distressing footage and alerted the police - but the authorities arrived too late to save him and his daughter. 
 
 In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said: "This is an appalling incident and our hearts go out to the family of the victim. There is absolutely no place for content of this kind on Facebook and it has now been removed." 
 
 Read more: 
 
 Reuters said two videos were posted, at 16:50 (09:50 GMT) and 16:57 on Monday, and were taken down at about 17:00 on Tuesday, roughly 24 hours later. Facebook has yet to confirm the times to the BBC. 
 
 Thailand's ministry of digital economy said it had contacted Facebook on Tuesday afternoon about removing the videos. 
 
 Ministry spokesman Somsak Khaosuwan told Reuters: "We will not be able to press charges against Facebook, because Facebook is the service provider and they acted according to their protocol when we sent our request. They co-operated very well." 
 
 YouTube said it had taken down the video within 15 minutes of being told of its presence by the BBC. 
 
 Its statement read: "YouTube has clear policies that outline what's acceptable to post and we quickly remove videos that break our rules when they're flagged." 
 
 Shortly before the BBC alerted YouTube, the video was showing 2,351 views. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption US 'Facebook killer' manhunt - what happened? 
 
 Thai social media users reacted with anger to the footage, while offering condolences to the family of the girl, BBC Thai editor Nopporn Wong-Anan says. 
 
 Devastated relatives of the child, including the mother, picked up the body of the girl and her father from hospital on Tuesday. 
 
 Following the US killing, Facebook said it was "constantly exploring ways that new technologies can help us make sure Facebook is a safe environment". 
 
 "We prioritise reports with serious safety implications for our community, and are working on making that review process go even faster," blogged one of its executives last week. 
 
 Separately on Tuesday, a court in Sweden jailed three men over the gang-rape of a woman in the city of Uppsala, 80km (50 miles) north of Stockholm, earlier this year and its live-streaming on Facebook. 
 
 One man was jailed for two years and four months, and another for one year, both for rape. The third was jailed for six months for posting the rape on Facebook and failing to report it. 
 
 Analysis: Leo Kelion, BBC technology desk editor 
 
 This latest atrocity comes less than a fortnight after a US man bragged on Facebook Live about his murder of a 74-year-old man in Cleveland, having also posted a video of the killing to the social network. 
 
 The platform's chief, Mark Zuckerberg, subsequently acknowledged he had "a lot of work" to do after it emerged the murder clip had remained online for more than two hours despite Facebook having received complaints in the meantime. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mark Zuckerberg commented on the Cleveland killing at a conference last week 
 
 Prior to that, Facebook Live broadcast the death of a Chicago man who was shot in the neck and head last June, and then in July a woman streamed the death of her boyfriend after he was shot by police in Minneapolis. 
 
 There have also been reports of sexual assaults, animal abuse and teenage suicide having been shown. 
 
 For its part, Facebook is trying to find ways for its review team - which employs thousands of people - to react to such content more quickly. 
 
 In addition, the firm has developed software to prevent such footage being reshared in full on its service at a later point. 
 
 And it is also exploring the use of artificial intelligence to automatically flag videos and photos that need to be reviewed rather than waiting for other users to report them. 
 
 What it hasn't discussed is the idea of scrapping Facebook Live altogether. 
 
 With Twitter and YouTube, among others, offering rival live-streaming products, doing so could put it at a disadvantage. 
 
 But as a result, there will inevitably be further outrages and criticism because Facebook Live's popularity makes it all but impossible for the firm to keep a human eye over each broadcast. ||||| The Hawks have launched an investigation into an image on Facebook in which a white man with a rifle poses over the apparently lifeless body of a black child - like a hunter celebrating his kill. 
 
 The undated picture is on the social networking site in the profile of a user called "Eugene Terrorblanche", a play on the name of the murdered leader of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB). As of yesterday, "Terrorblanche" had 590 "friends". 
 
 While it is not known if the photograph is genuine or has been manipulated, a child protection charity has expressed concern for the well being of the youngster. 
 
 The search is now on for the person or persons responsible for the picture, for whoever created the user profile and for those who have seen the photograph but failed to report it. 
 
 The authorities have suggested that everyone party to the posting - including those who have seen the picture - could face prosecution and, if convicted, a jail sentence. 
 
 This is regardless of whether the picture is faked. 
 
 Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa's spokesman, Zweli Mnisi, said his boss had ordered an "immediate investigation" and called on the man in the picture - or anyone who recognised him - to come forward to assist in the probe. 
 
 Mnisi said: "If, indeed, it reflects a real incident, those responsible must be severely punished." 
 
 The investigation was sparked when the Sunday Times presented the link to the site to the authorities. 
 
 Child advocacy groups said the production and dissemination of the picture violated several laws, including the Children's Act, the Films and Publications Act and the Criminal Procedure Act. 
 
 Hawks spokesman Colonel McIntosh Polela said "no words can describe the disgust I'm feeling", while Kidz Clinics advocacy manager Germaine Vogel called the picture "abominable". 
 
 The Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, yesterday slammed the photograph, saying that any adult threatening a child must be condemned. 
 
 The Facebook user, who has few personal details in his profile, claimed to have attended school in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, and that he was "self-employed". 
 
 "Terrorblanche" previously went under the name "AWB Wit Wolf". 
 
 When using that alias, he said he was in the business of selling stun guns and pepper spray. 
 
 HisFacebook friends include a mechanic from the West Rand, a supermarket manager from Boksburg on the East Rand, a housewife from Upington in the Northern Cape and a teacher from Edenvale, east of Johannesburg. 
 
 The picture was put on Facebook on June 24 last year - and so far not one of the user's "friends" has posted a comment condemning it. 
 
 The director of Women + Men Against Child Abuse, Miranda Jordan, said she found it "incredibly disturbing" not knowing whether the child in the picture was hurt or dead. 
 
 "I couldn't believe what I was seeing ... this is sickening and disgusting. Is this child hurt? Is he dead? Who would take this kind of picture? 
 
 "This hate image incites racism that almost all South Africans have fought so hard to eradicate," shesaid. 
 
 Those who commented favourably on the image could be charged and held accountable, she said. 
 
 "Anyone living in South Africa who has viewed this image of an abused child and has not reported it can be charged under the Children's Act 38 of 2005, which stipulates that, as a witness to the abuse of a child, you must report it to your nearest police station." 
 
 Experts said it would be difficult to confirm the photo's authenticity, but the authorities were hopeful someone would recognise the adult in the image. 
 
 Alternatively, they hope that the man (if he is also an unsuspecting victim) or friends who know the identify of the Facebook user will come forward with information. 
 
 South Africa has not prosecuted anyone for posting offensive material on Facebook, but law-enforcement agencies in the US are increasingly obtaining warrants to get users' details. 
 
 They can even request or subpoena information from Facebook. 
 
 Vogel of Kidz Clinics said that, in terms of South African law, the person in the picture could be charged with murder, grievous bodily harm or, in terms of the Children's Act, with the harm or ill-treatment of a child. 
 
 "Once an image is posted on the internet, it can never be deleted. So, for example, this hate image will be linked to this young man and this child for the rest of their lives. This is a gross violation of this child's well-being and privacy," said Vogel. 
 
 A police computer expert said an investigation of this nature would determine, among other things, if the child was harmed in the making of the image. 
 
 "If the picture has been photoshopped, those responsible for producing such an image can also be charged for child abuse," he said. 
 
 Experts on children's rights agreed that the Children's Act made it a crime to expose a child to behaviour that might harm him or her psychologically or emotionally. 
 
 Meanwhile, Polela said the person responsible for the picture and those who posted it on a social networking site were spreading "hate speech". 
 
 "As you would probably expect, there are many South Africans who will feel deeply offended by this. I am," he said. 
 
 Web and digital media lawyer Paul Jacobson said the first step would be to identify the man in the picture. 
 
 But he said it was unfair to single out social media networks for the racist material, saying "these people were like this before Facebook". 
 
 Police could also contact the social network for help. "This is a clear violation of Facebook's policies and, if put under enough pressure, I am certain (they) will react and assist investigations," Jacobson said. 
 
 Local internet service providers could be forced to help track down the user. "It is definitely in the public interest," Jacobson said. 
 
 - swartw@sundaytimes.co.za
– A man in Algeria apparently picked a terrible way to get attention on social media—and now he'll pay for it in prison. On Monday an Algerian court sentenced the unnamed man to two years after he posted to Facebook a photo of himself dangling a baby out of a 15th-story window in an attempt to get "likes," reports Al Arabiya English. The photo shows the baby being held by a single hand outside the apartment building in the capital city of Algiers over the caption "1000 likes or I will drop him." The BBC reports that other social media users quickly denounced the photo, and police charged the man with endangering the life of a child when they arrested him on Sunday. The man, who is a cousin of the baby's, swears the whole thing was a misunderstanding. The Independent reports he told Algeria's Ennahar TV the photo was manipulated by Facebook users to make it look worse than it actually was, claiming the "protective barriers" that were present were digitally removed. The boy's father also said he believed the man was just being playful and asked the court for mercy. Last week another man was jailed over photos shared to Facebook.