(Mirror Daily, United States) – Maybe third time’s a charm, but not with hoax messages floating around on Facebook. You surely have already seen a variation of the message urging you to post a legal notice on your own timeline otherwise you’ll lose the copyright to the pictures you share on the social media platform. Or that keeping your profile private now comes with a fee.
Even if Facebook has denied over and over again that such messages aren’t needed and that Facebook is still free for unlimited time, people still fall for it. If you haven’t seen the Facebook hoax message yet, just wait a bit longer; it’s bound to make its way into your news feed.
Until then, here’s a fragment of one of the versions: “Now it’s official! It has been published in the media. Facebook has just released the entry price: $5.99 to keep the subscription of your status to be set to ‘private.’ If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free.”
As clear as it might sound that this is a hoax – nowhere in the Terms and Conditions does it say that statuses have legal power – this social media trick is the perfect bait for people worried about their privacy. Even if this is the third go-round, some users would do anything to keep away from Big Brother’s prying eyes.
The last great commotion caused by a similar message happened in January this year. Before that, a 2012 reiteration of the hoax surfaced on the same social network, and according to Snopes.com, the original message first reared its annoying head back in 2009.
Each time around, Facebook diligently denied all rumors, and it this so on Monday in a most creative way: “While there may be water on Mars, don’t believe everything you read on the Internet today. Facebook is free and it always will be, and the thing about copying and pasting a legal notice is just a hoax. Stay safe out there Earthlings!”
Facebook’s own language from actual terms of service makes it clear for anyone that this is a hoax. But let’s face it – how many of us have actually read them when they first signed up? Maybe if we did, less users would promote such silly hoaxes that somehow find a way to resurface every few years.
Image Source: The Washington Post
Matthew Slotkin
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