Share This With 10 of Your Friends or You’ll Fall Victim to the Next Internet Hoax

Posted on by Emily Lundin

Since the dawn of social media, the common goal of obtaining the most likes and followers has always been present. We’ve all ashamedly fallen into the trap of reposting that “cursed image” you stumbled upon over Facebook that held the power of giving you 10 years of bad luck. You might’ve even sent that long chain message to 5 of your friends because your family would’ve been cursed if you didn’t do so. These may seem harmless, but with new technology and internet bots, the magnitude of this online situation has undoubtedly grown.

With the majority of our lives embedded in social media, it makes sense that we as people take precautions to keep our information safe. Unfortunately, some of these measures are unnecessary, with Instagram’s most recent viral safety hoax being the leading example. This post regarding public safety has deceived some of their most followed users such as P!ink, Julia Roberts and most notably, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Yes, you heard that right.

While internet hoaxes are nothing to freak out over, Facebook, owner of Instagram, has recently taken measures to keep their users safe while online. Within the past few months, Facebook has made changes that keep private groups safe, allows users to turn off facial recognition, and even give users more control of their data.

A hoax is simply fake news looking to be mass spread over various platforms. Nearly 60% of online users claim to have seen a hoax on the internet. Although they come in all shapes and sizes, they are easy to spot and avoid. Just make sure that image your about to share has a creditable source, and that funny email your grandma forwarded to you doesn’t have an unfamiliar link just waiting for you to click it.

One thought on “Share This With 10 of Your Friends or You’ll Fall Victim to the Next Internet Hoax”

  1. Hi! I clicked on your post because we have very similar titles, and it made me laugh out loud. When thinking of internet hoaxes, I immediately think back to those chain emails where you had to “share this with 10 other people or you will have a horrible day.” It’s funny that we both mentioned these type of hoaxes to start off our post and I think your title and intro definitely makes the reader want to continue reading. Great post!

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