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