A graphic circulating this week states that Facebook will lock accounts which spread religious beliefs. It’s a hoax.
Let’s first take a look at the graphic which has been in circulation for the past week.
No religion campaign
As of March 20/2014, we at Facebook will be launching a “No Religion” Campaign. Anyone caught spreading religious beliefs in any form will have their account locked, and further pending investigations may be held.
This is due to the new laws issued by our legal department (section 182 P34b) as new advertisers and groups have petitioned for a “more logical” and “adult” social network.
If a user (you) continues to spread any form of religious propaganda will be shut down and a permanent ban will be placed into effect, immediately.
Similar Hoaxes
If the above graphic looks familiar, that may be because it is one of several graphics making nearly identical claims. A similar “No Swearing Campaign” graphic went into circulation at the same time as this one, with similar wording and content.
No Official Announcement
Facebook has not announced any policy change regarding religion. Moreover, Facebook does not announce policy changes via a graphic.
To see an example of how Facebook actually announces a policy change, take a look at this press release from March 5, 2014, regarding their recent changes regarding the posting of regulated items.
Mark Zuckerberg’s name has not appeared on recent policy announcements. That has recently fallen under the domain of Monika Bickert, Facebook’s Head of Global Policy Management.
Grammar
The use of an unusual date format (“March 20/2014”) and oddly-worded sentences (especially the final statement) are further clues that this was not written by a professional organization.
Bottom Line
The Facebook “No Religion Campaign” is a hoax. The social network has made no such announcement, and does not issue announcements in the form of a graphic on their website.