Facebook will not implement a “no religion campaign,” which is what a viral post claims, saying that it will be implemented March 20, 2014.
As of Wednesday afternoon, users were still sharing the fake post, which comes in the form of a graphic.
It spelled the Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, incorrectly. “Mark Zukerberg,” the message reads.
The message claims: “As of March 20/2014, we at Facebook will be launching a ‘No Religion’ Campaign. Anyone caught spreading religious beliefs in any form will have their account locked, and further pending investigations may be held.”
Note that the date punctuation is incorrect, which is common for Internet hoaxes. The statement is also poorly worded in some places, which isn’t something a professional company like Facebook would do.
The company also wouldn’t spell the CEO of its own company wrong.
It also says: “This is due to the new laws issued by our legal department (section 182 P34b) as new advertisers and groups have petitioned for a ‘more logical’ and ‘adult’ social network. If a user (you) continues to spread any form of religious propaganda will be shut down and a permanent ban will be placed into effect, immediately.”
Facebook usually announces changes via its website or blog. It has a Newsroom section that can be accessed here.
But on Wednesday, people were still tweeting about the “No Religion” post.
“How facebook gonna ban religion ?” one person tweeted.
Another wrote: “Did you hear about Facebook is going to band religion from being posted on your page , and they will lock your account or freeze it.” [sic]
