Facebook Cartoon Profile Pic News: Snopes Debunks!
Facebook change your profile pic debunked
Snopes.com has debunked the validity of the Facebook cartoon profile pictures campaign to end child abuse.
“Changing your Facebook profile picture to one of a cartoon character will end child abuse. Or it will enable pedophiles to more easily make friends with children online.
FALSE”
As I suspected, it was someone just having some fun – with no real organization behind it – which started possible in Greece in recognication of International Day Against Child Abuse on November 19 and the International Day for Children’s Rights on November 20.
A Cartoon Network Facebook page around the same time asked people to “choose a cartoon character as your profile picture for a week” the week of November 21 – 28.
Somewhere, like “broken telephone”, the wrong message was sent out! And it went viral.
Read the full report on Snopes.com.
While no national child organization was tied to the Facebook cartoon profile pic campaign, UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) wrote on Twitter:
“Although the NSPCC did not originate the childhood cartoon Facebook campaign, we welcome the attention it has brought to the work we do 
”
And that counts for something!
Now for a second I fell for the hype and changed my profile picture. Then a good friend reminded me of our common viewpoint on things like this, and about Facebook, and that changing your profile picture will not change anything. Neither will liking a page. If you want people to be aware of something organize a big protest in the streets, boycott something, do something that will actually be noticed by the world outside of social networking. Example: I’m pretty sure that Mark Zuckerberg, Tom Anderson, Dick Costolo, and their associates would notice if we didn’t use their services for 3 months. So go volunteer in the community, make a real difference in the world. With a new year round the corner I challenge every single one you to find a cause that you feel is important enough to fight for and do something that will actually grab peoples attention and inspire them to do the right thing. Don’t just sit there and change your status, or your profile picture, or create a like page, and think that you did anything good to save a child from violence.
I beg to differ,….
Though changing the FB profile photo to a cartoon MAY NOT activate any real tangible thing to help abused children it DOES draw attention to people who are not even thinking along the lines of abused children. I have seen many situations through postings from friends about lost animals, and so on….and through my commenting, someone who MAY NOT be a direct fb friend of mine, WILL see my comment through me posting on someone else’s comments and this is how word is spread…and issues noticed. Especially now, during the season of helping, and giving, people ARE motivated by viewing posts as well as seeing so many band togehter and change their profile images…it does draw attention and makes people ask questions, to learn of the reason it’s being done. That’s what prompts them to go OUTSIDE of FB and become more proactive.
Just saying!
I use a variety of cartoon and other photos for my Facebook profile and have ever since I joined. I’m no pedophile and hate child abuse as much as the next guy. I also use historical characters like Civil War generals, Roman emperors, U.S. presidents; favorite movie characters; and celebrity mug shots. Very rarely is my profile pic my actual photo.
…and oddly enough, it has generated lots of conversation, and conversation usually leads to thinking, and thinking sometimes leads to action…
It’s a harmless enough thing to do, and I know that it has prompted me to search for and sign a petition to change child abuse laws in Canada. I’d say that if changing a FB picture does nothing, then maybe the petition will also do nothing. However, there is hope, and hope can be a powerful thing.