Sigh.. no, Facebook is not ending on March 15th 2012. Hoax spreads quickly

Have you seen the news? Maybe your friends have shared it with you.

Apparently, Facebook is going to shut down on March 15th, 2012. Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly found running the site just too stressful.

Here’s the link that many Facebook users have been sharing with each other.

Some worried Facebook users have even been sharing this photograph of a news report about the claimed closure of the world’s most popular social network:

However, before you start wailing and gnashing your teeth, I suggest you read the following:

Q. Is it true that Facebook will end on March 15th?
A. No.

The link being shared points to the website of the Weekly World News. Facebook users in America may be all too aware that stories published in the Weekly World News (WWN) often only have the very loosest relationship with the truth.

For instance, other popular stories on its website right now include “MEGAN FOX IS A MAN!”, “ALIEN SPACESHIPS TO ATTACK…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.