Facebook Hoax

Perhaps this speaks to my interests in virtual communities, but I'd like to talk about something pretty weird.

A rumor has been surfacing around Facebook, saying in some form or another (the words vary from post to post) that a $5.99 monthly premium will be required from now on, otherwise all photos and posts on your account will be considered public domain. Other posts have gone around, with people posting a status as a legal disclaimer, saying everything on their profile is theirs. Lack of such us a post would result in de-facto permission to use anything on one's profile.

Obviously both these ideas are flat out incorrect. We hear as teenagers the adage "don't always believe what you read on the internet" and the potentially deleterious effects of taking everything on the internet for face value. The same applies here. The fact of the matter is that these fears are unfounded. Piggy-backing off the recent news of water on Mars, the company released a statement saying "While there may be water on Mars, don't believe everything you read on the Internet today. Facebook is free and it always will be...and the thing about copying and pasting a legal notice is just a hoax. Stay safe out there Earthlings!"
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Why, then, do these things keep resurfacing? I remember at one point a couple years ago, the phenomenon became so widespread that even I was convinced to put up a disclaimer status. It would seem that social construction of knowledge and the nature of relationships with one's peers plays a massive role. When this was going around my various social circles, I remember talking about if the predicted changes would actually be taking place -- nobody seemed to know, but one thing was always certain. Someone had been convinced by someone or multiple people they had seen and respect, and this change in belief then inspired their own mentality shift. In a sort of way, people were rationalizing it, saying, "well if this person thinks it's true and a big deal, then I suppose it is." In this way, people are sensationalizing an event that is not going to happen, or is simply untrue.

Does this in any way have to do with the fact that there's an interface with technology? If we were to hear this simply by word of mouth, would we actually believe it? I tend to think not. The thought is almost comical, for why would they alienate their users and lose out on ad revenue now? In this age, where news events pass from person to person online quicker than they do by word of mouth, I'm betting that a multitude of posts regarding the new legal status of information on Facebook happened as a result of those people being convinced it was relevant by someone they know and respect. Further, the barrage of posts and peer pressure to maintain collective mentality plays a seminal role in the shifting of belief systems, particularly behind a screen when nobody is there to tell us we are buying in to something faulty. Our social relationships are an incredibly powerful psychological tool, and sometimes results in us conflating truth with fiction, particularly when rumors abound, and especially when technology is involved.