This Hoax Is Going Viral on Facebook (Again) — But Don't Fall for It

Impact

Nothing riles up the sheeple quite like groundless fear-mongering. 

A status update is going viral on Facebook — again. Snopes traced it back to November 2012, and, after scrolling through recent updates, it's back! The message warns users that Facebook is going to make everything you've posted public — even deleted messages and private photos — if you don't copy and paste the message on your own wall.

Here is the update people are posting:

Facebook

It's not true.

"You may have seen a post telling you to copy and paste a notice to retain control over things you share on Facebook," Facebook said on Wednesday in response to the hoax, the Telegraph reported. "Don't believe it. You own your content and can control how it is shared through your privacy settings."

While Facebook may be using your location data to recommend friends and listening to you through your phone (but it's not for ads, it swears!), it is not going to open the floodgates to all of your private and deleted information. 

Also, your violation of privacy is likely not punishable by law by the aforementioned UCC Section 1-308, "which has long been popular among conspiracy buffs who incorrectly maintain that citing it above your signature on an instrument will confer upon you the ability to invoke extraordinary legal rights," Snopes reported. And your violation of privacy is probably not punishable by law by the Rome Statute, "global laws from the International Criminal Court covering war crimes and genocide," according to the Telegraph.

In short, for the love of God, don't copy and paste. 

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