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Don't fall for this viral Facebook hoax

Posted at 4:30 AM, Oct 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-18 10:32:23-04

A viral post is circulating on Facebook that says everything that its users have ever posted will become public on Tuesday.

The post says this will include pictures that have been deleted and private messages.

Don't believe it.  It's a scam, and Facebook is asking that you not share the post if you happen to see it in your news feed.

The widely shared post states: 

Deadline tomorrow !!! Everything you've ever posted becomes public from tomorrow. Even messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. It costs nothing for a simple copy and paste, better safe than sorry. Channel 13 News talked about the change in Facebook's privacy policy. I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future. With this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates. DO NOT SHARE. just copy and paste.

Snopes.com reports this isn't the first time this Facebook hoax has gone viral and can be tracked back to 2012.

Facebook users shared the statuses so widely in the past, the company had to issue a statement.