Will AT&T or Facebook Donate 45 Cents to Save a Boy Shot by His Step-Father?

A shared story claims Facebook or AT&T donate for every message shared in order to save a boy who was shot by his step-father. Is this story true or false?

It’s a hoax.

Update: This story has migrated to the Russian social network VKontakte in 2013. VKontakte users can follow us here.

These types of rumors seem to float around for years, and despite consistent debunking, they thrive by pulling at the heart-strings of unsuspecting readers. Let’s take a look at the message as it  exists in 2012:

A 14 year old boy was shot 6 times by his stepfather. This boy was protecting his little 6 year old sister who was about to be raped by this poor…. excuse of a man. The little girl did not get hurt, thanks to her brave older brother. Their mom was at work when this happened. Now this brave young little boy is fighting for his life, but doctors say he will not survive unless he gets an operation which is costly and his mom cannot pay. Facebook companies have agreed to donate 45 cents for every time someone share this message so that together we can help save this boys life….. NSFTBC! If you had a heart you’d do it, It will only take a minute of your time.

Now take a look at the 2010 version of the rumor to compare how the story has evolved over time.

Last Friday a 14 yr old boy was shot 6 times by his step dad. The boy was protecting his 2 yr old sister, in whom the step dad was attempting to rape. The young girl was not harmed, bc of that young mans courage & loyalty to his sister. The mom was at work during this time. The 14 yr old boy is now fighting for his life, and the doctors say he will not make it unless he has this life saving surgery in which the boys mom cant afford. So At&t has agreed to donate $0.45 every time this msg is sent. So fwd & help save a life!

The story is basically the same, with some details changed. You may also see variations in which the ages, amount donated, or the companies involved may all change. The fact remains, however,  that this story is completely untrue, and no company has offer to donate for shares.

AT&T would not make a life-saving donation dependent on the number of shares a text message or email receives. What if the donations only amounted to $5? It would be a PR disaster. If a company were to make such a donation, they would simply make the donation and wouldn’t tie it to shares of a message. The concept itself is flawed, which only magnifies the falsehood of this hoax.

2013 Version

The same story circulated in 2013 with a new image (right). This image has nothing to do with the story above. In fact, it is from Getty Images, which contains the following description:

A 7-year-old Lebanese boy fights for his life on a hospital bed in Saida 17 July 2006 after being injured in an Israeli air raid. Israeli air strikes continued against Lebanon for the sixth consecutive day pushing the overall toll of the Lebanese civilians killed to at least 170.

Bottom Line

The story about donations for a boy shot by his stepfather is a hoax, with no proof that the details of the story ever happened.