Hoax Alert: Facebook Shutting Down Due to Overpopulation

A long-time rumor is making its rounds yet again. In this hoax we are told that Facebook is overwhelmed with its massive user base, including a large number of inactive accounts, and that re-posting a message is the only way to ensure you won’t get your account deleted.

Don’t believe it.

These “overpopulation” rumors have existed for years and have been levied against many other sites. In fact, this is the third such swell of this rumor in 2012. Read about the July 2012 version here. Let’s take a look at one of the more recent variants:

Hi , this is a message from the creator of Facebook and it tells you a little bit about what is going to happen to Facebook on the 15th of March. Please don’t send this back to the person you recieved it from. Dear Facebook members, Facebook is supposed to be closing down March 15th because it is becoming very overpopulated. There have been many members complaining that Facebook is becoming very slow. Records show that there are many active Facebook members and also many new members. We will be sending this message around to see if members are active or not. If you are active please send to 15 other users using copy+paste to show that you are still active. *Those who do not send this message within 2 weeks will be deleted without hesitation to make more space. Send this message to all of your friends to show that you are still active and you will not be deleted. Founder of Facebook..Remember to send this to 15 other people so your account wont be deleted.

A few points on this “notice”

• Weak grammar. “wont” instead of “won’t” or “recieved” instead of “received” (someone missed their “i before e” lesson)
• Facebook official. There has never been an announcement such as this by Facebook, or any other major website.
• Odd protocol. It is ridiculous to think that Facebook would ask you to forward a message to 15 people chain-letter-style in order to keep your account active. Not everyone checks Facebook every 2 weeks, nor does every user have 15 friends.
• Anonymous Zuck? It’s hard to fathom an official email coming from “the creator of Facebook” without a little specificity.

Don’t believe this rumor, and if you see anyone spreading it – drop them a link to this article to stop the rumor’s proliferation.