How many of those disgusting photos exist? I haven't counted but it is probably no more than a dozen representing 2-3 incidents of abuse.

The media treatment of this issue creates the impression that there are hundreds of photos and scores of incidents. Different sites printing different angles and sizes of the pics and repetition creates an illusion of rampant abuse. We see statements like, "more pics of abuse".

The media does the same with natural disasters and casualty figures. By showing various angles of tornado or hurricane damage, they can create the illusion of total devastion when the damage may have been confined to a small area. On any day there are battle casualties, the hourly repetition of news is nuanced in ways to give the impression to a casual listener that we are losing someone every hour.