Tag Archives: dog

A series of Facebook posts that claim a dog has been stolen by a man with a gun are hoaxes. The posts all use the same photos that come from the US. 

The posts show still images from CCTV footage showing a man with a gun holding a dog, and a picture of the same dog on its own.

One of the hoax posts, which has over 1,200 shares and appears in a buy-and-sell group for towns in Greater Manchester, says: “Someone in #Ramsbottom has stolen our beloved pup, leaving my 4 year old son heartbroken. If anyone has seen him, please let me know. Let’s make this thief famous and spread the word hopefully he’ll be caught soon!!!”

Posts with almost identical text, changing only the location, have accumulated hundreds of shares in community groups for Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth and

A post on Facebook claims a photograph shows an unchipped dog that has been found in Watton, Norfolk. The post, which asks for help finding the owner, has been shared over 2,000 times. 

The same photo with similar text has also been shared hundreds of times in local groups for Warrington, Plymouth, Exeter, York and Lincolnshire, amongst others. 

It says: “Hello, I haven’t found the owner of this sweet girl we picked up on the road in 📍Watton. She’s really depressed and she’s not eating. We took her to the vet she’s not chipped. Please Bump this post and help me fine the owner [sic]”.

There is no evidence that the dog pictured has been found in these locations. Although Full Fact was not able to find the original source of the picture, many other posts…

A Facebook post shared to a buy and sell Facebook group called “Aber swap shop” claiming an autistic boy called Brandon has gone missing with his family dog uses images taken in 2019, which we previously wrote about after they were used in a nearly-identical set of hoax posts.

The post says: “HELP!!!  #aber MS My son Brandon Smith took off this morning with our dog hank. He is autistic and has been missing for eight hours if anyone sees him please PM me please re-post on any sites.I already contacted police. [sic]”

As we’ve previously explained, the pictures used in the posts have been circulating online since 2019, and reportedly show a boy in the US being reunited with his dog, Piper, which had been found after going missing for over a fortnight. 

They…

Hoax posts shared to local Facebook groups claim that an autistic boy named Brandon Smith has gone missing with his dog Hank. 

Full Fact has seen an example of this post in a community “what’s on” group in Eastbourne, East Sussex, but it has also appeared in groups in the US such as one in the town of Morganton, North Carolina. 

The full text of the post says: “My son Brandon Smith took off this morning with our dog hank. He is autistic and has been missing for eight hours if anyone sees him please PM me please re-post on any sites.I already contacted police [sic].” 

Alongside the text is a professional-looking picture of a young boy sitting on grass, holding a small white dog on a lead. 

This picture is not of a missing boy—it’s from a set of stock…

Thousands of people on Facebook have shared a hoax post appealing for the identity of a dog allegedly found injured at the side of the road in Plumstead, southeast London. 

The post, shared 3,700 times at the time of publication, says: “Hello. If anyone is looking for this sweet girl, found her lying on the side road in #Plumstead 

“She was hit by a car in a hit and run incident.I took her to the vet she is in a critical condition,sustained multiple fractures and on pain relief and oxygen. She is not chipped I know someone is looking for her. Please bump this post to help me find the owner.” 

This is not a real appeal, and Full Fact has written about posts with similar wording many times before. 

All three pictures used in the post appear to have been taken…