Tell Your Friends to Stop Spreading the Hoax

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It’s that time of year again, but unfortunately, 2021 has not ushered in new “tips to bypass FB” as it supposedly limits posts on your news feed. Nor has Facebook ushered in a new algorithm that “chooses the same few people – about 25 – who will read your posts”.

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The two latest hoaxes may look familiar as far too many people are falling for the scam once again. Perhaps you have seen this one:

Thanks for the tip to circumvent Facebook... Works!! I have a whole new profile. I see posts from people I didn't see anymore. Facebook's new algorithm picks the same people - around 25-who will see your posts. Hold your finger anywhere in this post and click " copy ". Go to your page where it says " what's on your mind". Tap your finger anywhere in the empty field. Click paste. This is going to circumvent the system.

Hello new and old friends! Hello

Or, maybe you have seen this more simplistic, yet vague, attempt to bypass Facebook algorithms:

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The fact of that matter is that we are stuck with whatever unfathomable algorithms Facebook uses to determine the order of content in our feeds, regardless of what the latest old hoax wants you to believe. 

These hoaxes actually began following a real Facebook announcement on January 11, 2018 regarding a major overhaul in how their newsfeeds work.

It wasn’t about squeezing out your friends, though. In fact, Facebook had the opposite in mind: it said it was working on turning the tables when it comes to personal content from friends and family making way for an explosion of corporate posts, be they from corporations, businesses or media.

Snopes contacted Facebook to ask whether the claim of limiting personal interactions had merit. A representative said no, it does not. Why is the rumor, then, still lying its way to the top of newsfeeds? By convincing a user to copy and paste, rather than share the post, it’s much harder to shut it down.

The best thing you can do is carefully sidestep this hoax and most importantly, you can do everyone a favor by warning your friends not to perpetuate the spread of fake news posts.

KPGZ News - Jim Dickerson contributed to this story