Well, after the post has gained a large number of likes, the contents are edited into something completely different, such as a straightforward investment scam. The wording can also be a bit odd (‘Flood your feeds!’) and they are often posted by people with new accounts who have very few Facebook friends. Comments are invariably turned off on the posts to avoid people pointing out the inconsistencies.
We know they’re fake because you can find near-identical posts in community pages all over the world, simply with the location changed. There’s been a spate of viral fake posts in community pages worldwide about missing children or elderly people, plus bizarre community ‘warnings’ such as there being a rattlesnake on the loose. Most of us wouldn’t think twice about sharing something like this, as it feels like a really helpful and useful thing to do, but, sadly, it often isn’t. An elderly man with dementia has gone missing – you’re asked to keep an eye out for him and also share the post more widely. Silver alert!’ says a post on your local Facebook page. The same fake appeal was spotted on UK and US pages