Since May 2016, employees at 18 nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country have posted unauthorized pictures and videos of residents on social media platforms, according to an analysis from ProPublica.
These unauthorized social media posts include images of residents' buttocks and genitals, along with a furtively recorded video of two residents having sex.
Here are five things to know.
1. ProPublica has been tracking the issue since 2015. The nonprofit has identified 65 instances of inappropriate posts on social media among employees of long-term care facilities going back 2012.
2. Most of the posts involve the social media platform Snapchat. However, unauthorized photos have also been posted to Facebook and Instagram.
3. Six of the incidents occurred in Iowa, where greater efforts are being made to identify such occurrences.
4. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who has publicly stated Snapchat and other social media companies need to take action to eliminate the issue, said other states should follow Iowa's lead.
"The number of reports in Iowa makes me wonder how well reporting is going in other states," he said in a statement to ProPublica. "People should report these incidents. Reporting is key to enforcement, and enforcement is key to prevention. … They have to face the consequences of negative inspection findings and penalties if they don't."
5. Snapchat is currently working to integrate a system into its platform that allows users to directly report abuse.
"Images of nursing home abuse will never have a safe or welcome place on Snapchat," the social media company said in a statement, according to ProPublica. "This content not only violates the law and our guidelines — it offends our common decency."
To read the full report, click here.
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