Photo of toddler snorting 'cocaine' sparks outrage online

A photo of a three-year-old boy seemingly snorting cocaine which was uploaded on Facebook, has reportedly sparked outrage amongst social media users.


The image which had, according to reports, been uploaded online with the caption, "Mum and dad’s little junkie," has amassed millions of views, with social media users demanding that the child be taken into the care of child protective services.
The photo shows the toddler called, Mladen, looking straight at the camera, with rolled up paper between his nose and the powdery white substance in front of him, as if ready to take a sniff.

Daily Record reports that the family of the little boy, from the small village of Sindel in eastern Bulgaria’s Varna Province, have come out to assure social media users that the photo had been some twisted, unintentional joke.

Nadezhda Nuri, the mother of the child revealed to local media that the white, powdery substance had not been cocaine, but simply flour.

Nuri claims that the image had been taken as a joke but then uploaded onto social media by her 13-year-old daughter, explaining:
"My mother first saw the picture of the children and called me. I couldn’t have done such a thing, I don’t even know how to write. My daughter must have taken the photo and uploaded it online. I can't do it because I can't even read or write, never mind use a computer."

Nuri's daughter who had allegedly uploaded the photo, adds that the family jokes around by takin g such controversial photos.
"I was only joking, I got the idea from Facebook. I have never seen real drugs. I once saw a woman on Facebook making lines with flour and then snorting it."


Local media reports that child services are still investigating the incident despite the family's claims.