Violent Content, including animal abuse, gore and beheading content
Violent or graphic content can appear across social media, video-sharing platforms, messaging services, forums and other online spaces. This could include videos or images showing serious violence, assaults, animal abuse, graphic injuries, gore or beheadings.
Coming across this content unexpectedly can be extremely upsetting. While not all violent or graphic content is illegal, platforms have rules about what they allow, and some types of violent content may also cross the threshold into criminal or illegal content.
If you've seen violent, graphic or animal abuse content online, there are steps you can take to report it and reduce the chances of seeing similar content again.
What is violent or graphic content?
Violent or graphic content generally refers to images, videos or other material showing serious physical violence, injury, death, or cruelty.
This can include:
Videos or images showing serious assaults or physical violence
Graphic images showing severe injuries, wounds or death
Gore or other extremely graphic content
Videos or images showing beheadings or executions
Content showing torture or extreme violence
Videos showing deliberate animal abuse or cruelty
Content encouraging or celebrating serious violence
Threats of serious violence towards another person
Accounts or communities repeatedly sharing graphic violent material
Is all violent content against the rules?
Not necessarily, the context and purpose of the content can matter.
Violent or graphic footage may sometimes be shared for legitimate reasons, including news reporting, documentary evidence, education, raising awareness, reporting on conflict or exposing wrongdoing.
For example, footage documenting an act of violence may be treated differently from the same footage being shared to celebrate, glorify or encourage the violence.
Platforms may choose to remove particularly graphic content, restrict who can see it, place a warning over it or reduce how widely it is recommended.
This means that seeing upsetting or graphic content online doesn't automatically mean that it is illegal or that a platform is required to remove it. However, you can still report content that you believe breaks the platform's rules.
What does the law say about violent content online?
There isn't one law that makes all violent, graphic or gory content online illegal.
Whether content is illegal will depend on what it shows, why it has been shared and the circumstances surrounding it.
Some violent content can cross into criminal behaviour. This could include content involving:
Threats of violence
Encouraging or assisting someone to commit a violent offence
Content connected to terrorism
Harassment or stalking involving threats or fear of violence
Certain extreme or grossly offensive communications
Criminal animal cruelty
What does the Online Safety Act say?
The Online Safety Act 2023 places legal duties on regulated online services to protect UK users, including adults, from illegal content and activity.
A number of offences connected to violence are included within the Act's priority offences. These include certain offences involving threats or the fear or provocation of violence. Where content amounts to a priority offence, regulated platforms have stronger duties to assess the risk of this content appearing on their services and take proportionate steps to prevent users from encountering it.
However, this doesn't mean that all violent or graphic content is priority illegal content. A video showing a serious injury, for example, isn't automatically illegal simply because it is graphic or upsetting. The content and circumstances need to be considered.
Platforms may still restrict or remove violent or graphic content under their own community guidelines, even where the content isn't considered illegal under UK law.
What about animal abuse content?
There are stronger legal considerations where online content is connected to animal cruelty.
Causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and this offence is included as a priority offence under the Online Safety Act. This means online services have duties to address content and activity where their services are being used to commit or facilitate this type of animal cruelty offence.
However, there is an important distinction between committing or facilitating animal cruelty and showing footage of animal cruelty that has already happened.
A pre-recorded video showing animal cruelty isn't automatically priority illegal content simply because it shows an animal being harmed. Whether it is illegal content will depend on the circumstances, including what the content shows and how it is being used or shared.
Even where animal abuse footage doesn't meet the threshold for priority illegal content, it may still fall within other illegal-content rules or breach a platform's community guidelines.
This means animal abuse content can still be reported to the platform, even if you're unsure whether it is illegal.
How do I report violent, graphic or animal abuse content online?
If you've come across violent, graphic or animal abuse content online, there are several things you can do.
Report the content to the platform
Use the platform's reporting tools to report the post, video, image, livestream or account. Choose the reporting reason that most closely matches what you've seen. This may include violence, graphic content, threats, animal abuse or dangerous activity.
If an account is repeatedly sharing this type of content, you may also be able to report the account itself.
Don't repeatedly view or share graphic content
You don't need to repeatedly watch graphic footage in order to report it. Where possible, save the URL, username or account details rather than downloading or sharing copies of distressing material.
Sharing violent footage to raise awareness can sometimes result in the content reaching a much wider audience, so consider whether resharing it is necessary.
Block or mute accounts
If a particular account is repeatedly posting violent or graphic material, you can block, mute or unfollow it. You may also be able to tell the platform that you aren't interested in similar content or change settings relating to sensitive or graphic material.
Report threats or immediate danger
If violent content includes a credible threat towards you or another person, or you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact the police.
If there is an immediate risk to life or safety, call 999.
Already reported it to the platform?
If you have reported violent, graphic or animal abuse content to a platform and you're unhappy with the response, we may be able to help you understand your reporting options and what you can do next.
Further Support
Seeing graphic violence, death or animal abuse online can be upsetting, particularly when you've come across the content unexpectedly. If something you've seen online is affecting you, or you're concerned about an animal you've seen online, further support is available.
Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC)
SMACC recommends reporting animal cruelty content directly to the platform where you found it. You can also report the content to SMACC, where information submitted by the public is added to its animal cruelty content database and helps support its work with social media platforms and animal welfare organisations.
SMACC also provides guidance on recognising less obvious forms of harmful animal content, including staged or fake animal rescues and content where animals may be deliberately distressed or exploited for views and engagement.
RSPCA
Where possible, provide information that may help identify the animal, person responsible or location. If the concern relates only to content you've seen online, you can also report the content directly to the social media platform and SMACC.
Samaritans
If something you've seen online is affecting your mental health or you're finding it difficult to cope with, Samaritans provides emotional support 24 hours a day.
You can call
116 123
for free.