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Facebook has confirmed it removed graphic footage from ABC's Four Corners program of children being assaulted and mistreated at a Northern Territory youth detention centre.
The vision, which aired on Four Corners on Monday night, showed a teenage boy being handcuffed and hooded and strapped to a mechanical chair.
Four Corners' producer Sally Neighbour said on Twitter she was "flabbergasted" to learn Facebook had censored the videos.
"This beggars belief," she wrote.
"It was CCTV vision from within the prison system that Adam Giles' government runs."
Facebook has removed the videos of abuse of child detainees. Flabbergasted. #4Corners— Sally Neighbour (@neighbour_s) July 26, 2016
In a statement issued to the ABC, and later posted to Twitter, Facebook confirmed it deleted the footage after it was reported by members of the Australian public.
A Facebook spokesperson said the videos were deleted for containing child nudity.
"Upon further review, we have restored one of the videos because it does not contain such imagery," the spokesperson said.
"We review millions of reports each week and from time to time we make a mistake and work to rectify this as soon as we become aware of this."
However, Facebook said it would not be restoring one video because after investigation it did contain child nudity.
"Our community standards do not allow any nudity of minors to be shared on our services, even if they are shared with the purpose of condemning it."
ABC director of news, Gaven Morris, said in a statement the videos in question exposed the mistreatment of children in juvenile detention.
He said the video deemed to have contravened Facebook's policy on child nudity contained a boy's bare bottom.
"ABC News gave careful consideration to publishing these images, which are evidence of the mistreatment of a child and not in any way gratuitous, and we believe their publication is strongly in the public interest," he said.
"We have expressed our concerns to Facebook about their handling of this matter."