Facebook Hoaxes Are Back

One of the great mysteries of social media—apart from why people need to share photos of their dinner—is what makes someone post false information without hoping to gain from it. These hoaxes sometimes end up going viral and taking on a life of their own, and the original sender only gets a little temporary boost in their visibility online. There have been a lot of Facebook scams over the years and more than a few hoaxes, too. The key difference between the two is that scams and fraud seek to steal your identity, your money, access to your computer or account or some other criminal gain. Hoaxes, on the other hand, seem to only bring joy to the creator when they watch how many people share the misleading or false information. A recently reported double-hoax playoff of changes to Facebook’s algorithms, while also requiring the “copy-paste” behavior to make it spread. Earlier this year, Facebook announced that it would adjust what types of posts and content showed up in your feed to make less relevant, commercially-based posts appear less frequently. It didn’t take long for people to assume Facebook was censoring posts and blocking some of your friends. This hoax takes that fear to a new level and urges participants to “sneak” into a separate Facebook news feed, accessible only by copying and pasting their message into a new post. The message specifically states that you will be able to “bypass” Facebook’s algorithms and see posts from friends you haven’t heard from in years. Unfortunately, it’s not true. There is no secret backdoor Facebook newsfeed hidden beneath fancy computer code, and copying the message to share with all of your friends will only highlight the fact that you fell for a phony message. Sadly, engaging in comments to inform your friends that their post is a hoax will have the same engagement effect and cause the hoax to continue to spread. Whenever you come across a social media hoax, it’s better left untouched. Don’t click “like” or any of the angry/frustrated emojis, don’t comment on it and don’t share it, even accompanied by a message that warns people of the hoax. Any engagement you give it simply gives it more visibility and power. If there is anything dangerous or compromising about the post that could lead to loss of money or data, try to message the person who shared it privately and explain the issue.

Contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530. For on-the-go assistance, check out the free ID Theft Help App from ITRC.

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