Good Morning America: Mark Zuckerberg Really Is Giving Away Facebook Stock-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Mark Zuckerberg is giving away Facebook stock to random people because he’s tired of the many scams that have made that false claim on the social media site, Good Morning America and other news outlets have supposedly reported.
The Truth:
Contrary to rumors, Mark Zuckerberg still isn’t giving Facebook stock to random people who share a message on the social media site.
False reports of that Mark Zuckerberg would give 10% of his Facebook stock to 1,000 random users surfaced in early December 2015. TruthorFiction.com reported on those claims and easily proved them to be false.
Still, variations of the Zuckerberg Facebook stock giveaway claim have persisted. One version of the rumor claimed that ABC’s “Good Morning America” had confirmed that this time the Facebook stock giveaway was not a hoax. That’s false. The show has never reported on the Facebook stock giveaway scam, so that claim is completely fabricated.
Then, an article that appeared on the fake news website the Abodo Chronicles reported that Mark Zuckerberg had partnered with the online publication to “give away $4.5 million each to $1,000 Facebook users.” The (fake) story goes that Zuckerberg was tired of the Facebook stock giveaway rumors, so he decided to make them a reality:
MENLO PARK, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – Mark Zuckerberg is tired of the hoax that has been circulating on Facebook, asking users to share a supposed message that the Facebook founder is giving away $4.5 Million to 1,000 people.
Well, if you can’t lick ’em, join ’em. That’s what Zuckerberg is doing exactly.
Today, Zuckerberg announced that he is partnering with Silicon Valley-based The Adobo Chronicles to make the hoax a reality.
Again the story encourages readers to “share” a message on Facebook to become eligible for the massive Facebook giveaway. However, the Abodo Chronicles isn’t a trusted source of news, according to its “About Us” page:
THE ADOBO CHRONICLES is your source of up-to-date, unbelievable news. Everything you read on this site is based on fact, except for the lies.
Anytime that you learn about Facebook changing policies (or giving away stock) from a contact who “shares” a post, it’s a hoax. Facebook has said that it would never communicate information to users this way, and users are encouraged to report this type of scam by following these steps.