Charging for Facebook? Facebook Users to Pay $9.99 a Month (Hoax)

The days of free Facebook are over… According to an all-caps locked message I saw on my Facebook feed, the social networking site is going to start charging people $9.99 a month.

From the frequently copied and pasted message:

“FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES.”

But don’t worry, the message is just a prank. Mark Zuckerberg isn’t about to start charging for Facebook. In a Facebook post, the company writes:

“A rumor on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It’s free and always will be.”

So how does an internet rumor like this get spread? Well, a few ways. The original chain message included the line, Facebook will still be “FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.” Also, the message assured gullible users that “IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS.” And really, who is going to check something out for themselves.

Facebook is doing all it can to reassure users that it won’t randomly start charging people. The company has even added a short sentence (“It’s free and always will be”) to the main log in page.

If Facebook did start charging users, it would be extremely greedy of them. According to ZDNet, Facebook already brings in more than $4 billion a year from advertising.

So yes, the charging for Facebook rumor is a hoax. Now that you know, you can have a little fun with your friends. Try posting this image up as your profile pick.

Did you get fooled by the charging for Facebook hoax?