Maybe my Facebook friends are more gullible than most. If they are less gullible than average, I can only imagine how many hoaxes other see their friends post. It is just crazy to me that so many people keep falling for the same stupid hoaxes over and over again. I’m going to point out three of the most common ones. For each of them, I’ll also include a link to the most relevant rebuttal on the popular Snopes site.

While falling for these hoaxes may make your friends chide you for posting them, they do not necessarily make your account any more hackable. Do Facebook ‘Copy and Paste, Don’t Share’ Posts Make Your Account Hackable?

Let’s start with the most basic advice I can give you. If you see a post that begs you to copy and paste, view it very skeptically. Yes, there is a possibility it could be legit. Even if legit, do you really want to post the exact same words and hundreds or thousands of others? Should the message be that important, let’s say hating cancer, write something in your own words. Posts that go one step further and tell you how to copy and paste make it even more sketchy. Stick to posting photos of friends, family and pets!

No Limit to Who Views Posts

I rolled my eyes the first time this one went around and yet it keeps coming back over and over again. There is no Facebook algorithm that only allows posts to be seen by 25 (or 26) friends. Quite simply, you’ll see stuff from those you interact with most often. But even if you haven’t interacted with someone for quite some time, they can still show up in your feed. Want to see more friends’ stuff, interact with them!

Does a New Facebook Algorithm Only Show You 26 Friends?

Posts are NOT Being Made Public

Next up are those who quote a generic “Channel 13 News” report claiming posts will soon be made public if you don’t act like a lemming and post a silly legal notice. Yes, I’m being very sarcastic! I’ve lived in various media markets and have never lived in one that had a Channel 13 News. If this was truly legit, they could name the call letters and city of this bogus station. It is a complete hoax. No posts are being made public. And posting something does absolutely nothing.

Will Posting This Notice Stop Facebook from Making Your Posts Public?

Your Account Has Been Hacked/Cloned

This one is a bit trickier as it can be true at times unlike the first two. Most often people post this because they got a message via Facebook Messenger claiming they got hacked. Before posting, do a little follow-up. Who notified you? Can you verify they truly sent the message via a text message, phone call or email? It is possible the message you got was spoofed. If you don’t really know the sender, definitely be skeptical of it.

While it doesn’t hurt to post a message claiming you think you’ve been hacked, it is quite possible you haven’t been hacked. Unless you have seen a duplicate profile somewhere, keep researching.

Are Facebook Pirates ‘Cloning’ Accounts?

While this posts only lists the three hoaxes I’ve seen most often recently, there will be others going around soon enough. Please be wary and research before posting this stuff! When there is even a hint of doubt, don’t do it!!!