Hoax posts about dog bitten by rattlesnake shared widely online

Hoax posts claiming that a rattlesnake has bitten and seriously injured a dog have been shared hundreds of times in Facebook groups around the UK. 

Full Fact has seen examples of the posts in “buy and sell” groups in Dudley (West Midlands), Carluke (Lanarkshire), Alfreton (Derbyshire) and Great Yarmouth (Norfolk).

The posts all use near-identical language, which says: “Alarm ALERT 

“Diamond Rattlesnake found in [location] bitten one of my pups today and left it fighting for it’s life .Please be watchful of your surroundings, toilets, openings, potted plants etc. Stay safe everyone

“SPREAD THE WORD AND SAVE LIFE!! [sic]”

But this isn’t a real alert. Aside from the obvious fact that the same person cannot have had their dog injured by the same snake…