That Facebook hoax is circulating again

It’s like the social media equivalent of “Groundhog Day.” Once every few months, a Facebook hoax pops up claiming that you must cut and paste a certain status so that Facebook will not be able to use your pictures and information as it wants.

The status circulates for about a week, until cries of “hoax! hoax!” knock it off your newsfeed.

But a few months later it returns, with slightly different wording claiming once again that Facebook has changed its privacy policy.

This latest “Groundhog Day” began a few days ago. There’s a new wrinkle this time: One version of the status is claiming that Facebook is going to start charging people $5.99 to keep profiles private.

Rest assured, whatever your great aunt Suzy may post, this is not happening.

Facebook did not change its privacy statutes. And it’s not planning to charge users.

It’s uncertain how the latest Facebook hoax began, but it will probably be a few more days before people stop posting the status.

These hoaxes have been floating around since at least 2012, as people become more concerned about privacy and how to protect themselves online.

For more, check out Snopes’ investigation of the Facebook privacy status hoax.

The status:

Tags: facebook, facebook hoax, facebook privacy, new media, social media