Claim: Facebook will soon make all private inbox messages publicly viewable to promote honesty among users.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, December 2014]
I saw this and I was wondering if it really is true and if there is a way to keep info from getting public. I used it for some very private
financial info and to help grieving people. I don't want that made public... What should I do?
Origins: On
According to the article, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the upcoming change in a
An anonymous source at Facebook was able to confirm that, despite the post being taken down, Facebook is definitely including the 'public messages' feature into future updates. The source was also able to confirm the feature will publicize all messages sent over the life of the Facebook account.
"I have been getting a lot of questions about our new direct message policy, which will make messages viewable by the public. It is a policy that we are going to enact over the next couple of updates. We feel it is a good policy that will promote honesty, and it will be retroactive, so old messages will be visible until a week after you deactivate your Facebook account."
The claim bore some resemblance to an earlier mistaken belief that Facebook private messages had been (for a time) made public, but Empire News is one of many fake news sites known for publishing entirely fabricated claims. Among prior yarns spun by the site are a story about welfare recipients being given
The site's disclaimer page notes Empire News "is a satirical and entertainment website."
Last updated: 18 December 2014
