A persistent meme that resurfaced on October 23 2019 about a modern-day Robin Hood is in reality a prank posted by someone out of “social media fun.”
The graphic shows a photograph of a man besides a Fox News logo, accompanied by a short description:
A 27 year old Jackson Mississippi man was arrested over the weekend for hacking into the Hinds County Human Services Department (HCHS) and approving all applications for food stamps. After approving the applications, he then had cards mailed out to new applicants all totaling $2500 each. Current card holders were also awarded $2500 credits. His bond was set at $100,000 and has since bonded out. More on this story tonight at 10 pm. FOX News
The graphic also appeared on Instagram.
But there is no record anywhere of such a story running on any actual news site. We contacted the newsroom at WDBD-TV, the Fox affiliate in Jackson, for confirmation. They debunked it for us and pointed us to the person who was behind the fake story: a Florida man who has made similar graphics using his own photograph.
As the “hack” story spread, he said on Twitter, “Y’all I just make funny joke posts.. it’s just for social media fun.. please don’t take me seriously lol.. just like to make folks laugh that’s all.”
Y’all I just make funny joke posts.. it’s just for social media fun.. please don’t take me seriously lol.. just like to make folks laugh that’s all ???????? pic.twitter.com/6pZr1VFU4q
— Brandon (@Thahomiebrandon) October 23, 2019
Update, August 17 2020, 1:03 PM: On August 16 2020 the Facebook page Gritty2020 shared the following screenshot:
Although the image was different, the text was identical to the original:
A 27-year-old Jackson, Mississippi man was arrested for hacking into the Hinds County Human Services Department (HCHS) and approving all applications for food stamps. After approving the applications, he then had cards mailed out to new applicants all totaling $2500 each. Current card holders were also awarded $2500 credits. His bond was set at $100,000 and [he] has since bonded out. More on this story tonight at 10 pm. FOX News
However, no news article was appended and no local affiliate was mentioned — only “FOX News.” Users who attempted to find any news articles about the story would immediately find Google had highlighted a search result in a “Featured Snippet,” reiterating the basic content of the screenshot:
That result, dated October 14 2019, appeared on first glance to verify the claim as authentic. But the link in question went to meme repository iFunny.co, not a news site.
Although the claim was fact-checked by TruthOrFiction.com (on this page) and other outlets in October 2019, Google highlighted the entry above — which was not a fact-check, and provided no indication the story was fabricated.