Is Facebook Making All Photos And Private Facebook Messenger Messages Public On Tuesday, October 18? [Hoax]

Chances are, if you fired up your Facebook app on your phone on the morning of Tuesday, October 18, you saw plenty of posts from your aunt or grandmother that demanded Facebook not share their photos with the public. The viral Facebook post may vary, but the gist of it generally reads like the following, with Facebook users claiming some nebulous news station spoke of Facebook being a public entity that requires Facebook users to post a statement like the following, expressly not giving Facebook permission to share their photos.

“Everything you’ve ever posted becomes public from tomorrow. Even messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. It costs nothing for a simple copy and paste, better safe than sorry. Channel 13 News talked about the change in Facebook’s privacy policy. I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future. With this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates.”

As reported by ABC Action News, the Facebook post claiming a deadline of Tuesday, October 18, was in effect for allowing Facebook to go willy-nilly with photo sharing if folks didn’t post the above status to their Facebook walls is a big hoax. Many Facebook users eventually figure out that it’s the same kind of hoax that circulates on Facebook every once in a while, with a variety of different deadlines assigned to the hoax.

The scary Facebook post claims that even photos people have deleted on Facebook — along with private Facebook Messenger messages — will be fair game for Facebook’s use. Perhaps it’s the threats of private Facebook messages becoming exposed that are fueling the fire of the Facebook hoax. People might shudder to think what damage could be done if their sexy Facebook Messenger inboxes and photos were exposed.

But therein lies the rub of this Facebook scam: As people have been taught over the years, don’t put anything on Facebook — or online anywhere — that you wouldn’t want to be exposed, since anything can be hacked. Facebook included.

Even though Facebook offers privacy options for folks who don’t want their photos and Facebook posts public, scandals over the years have proven that hackers can hack the phones of celebrities and expose those photos to the world. Hillary Clinton’s emails were hacked. Ashley Madison was hacked.

Therefore, the Facebook post that implores people not to share it — but to copy and paste it to their own Facebook walls — one that was first debunked ever since going viral in 2012 — exposes a larger issue. Nothing should be uploaded to Facebook in the first place that Facebook users wouldn’t want exposed to the public.

Do folks follow this unwritten rule or line of thought? Apparently not, as witnessed by all the folks screaming in capital letters at Facebook on their Facebook timelines that Facebook is not allowed to use their Facebook photos and private Facebook Messenger messages in any way, shape, or form.

The hoax was so widespread that Facebook has had to deny it in the past via a Facebook statement.

[Featured Image by Nati Harnik/AP Images]