This weekend a rumor about Facebook shutting down began spreading thanks to a false article created by Weekly World News, a company which is also reporting that Alien spaceships will attack earth in 2011.Facebook posted a status update on its page Sunday afternon saying, “We didn’t get the memo about shutting down, so we’ll keep working away like always. We aren’t going anywhere; we’re just getting started.”
Weekly World News published a story on Saturday saying Facebook would shut down March 15th and people couldn’t access anything stored in their accounts after that. If you still question whether that story has a humorous intent, take a look at the other items linked nearby: “Young Adults Moving Into Nursing Homes,” “Mike Tyson Pigeon Fetish,” “Droids Help Kids Cheat,” and “Alien Spaceships to Attack Earth in 2011.”
Nonetheless, people have been taking the story about Facebook very seriously. It’s gotten more than 6,000 comments, mostly consisting of fans begging Zuckerberg to have a change of heart. One commenter wrote:
What am I going to do without FB…I spend most of my down time conversing with FB friends…I have a full time job, three children, and a husband…I don’t have the time to hang out or see family and friends. I talk to family and friends that I haven’t seen or spoken to in years. This is definitely not a good idea. I’m crushed to hear this…
People who believe the Weekly World News article have created a group on Facebook, already 2,000 strong, to stop the site from shutting down. We’ve also noticed other people are posting links to the story, and a number of them include comments suggesting some people really have gotten the joke after all, while others question whether the article is true.
Have you read the article, and are you surprised by the reactions to this article?
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