Tag Archives: hoax

Multiple posts are being shared in community groups on Facebook claiming to be searching for the owner of a lost dog and its pup. But these posts are not genuine. 

One post, which has more than 1,000 shares, appears in a Facebook group for selling cars and motorbikes in Belfast. It says: “l found this sweet girl with her pup by our gate in Belfast. I got her checked at a vet she’s not microchipped and is now sleeping. She definitely misses her family. I fed her and I will continue feeding her until I find the owner. Please bump this post to help me find the owner, or someone who can take her in”. 

Almost identical posts appear in community groups across the UK, including Solihull in Birmingham, Barnsley in South Yorkshire, Didcot in Oxfordshire, as well as in…

Multiple posts on Facebook are sharing a hoax appeal for a missing man with dementia. The posts appear in community groups around the world.

One post, for instance, appears in a buy-and-sell Facebook group for Twydall in Kent, and has over 1,000 shares. It says: “FLOOD YOUR FEEDS ~ MISSING!! In #twydall Our Dad, Walter Peters aged 73 drove out last night with his dog Cami and he still hasn’t returned. He doesn’t know where he’s going, he has dementia. There is a silver alert activated on him. Please help bump this post so we can get him home safely”. 

Almost identical posts appear in groups for Malvern and Stourport in Worcestershire and Lismore in Scotland.

Other versions can also be found in groups abroad, including Samoa, Dartmouth in Nova Scotia in Canada,

Hoax posts that claim to be searching for a missing man with Alzheimer’s are being shared online. 

One post, which has been shared to a Facebook buy-and-sell page for Barton in Yorkshire and has more than 100 shares, says: “FLOOD YOUR FEEDS ~ MISSING!! In Barton […] Our Dad, Fredrick Miller aged 73 drove out last night with his dog Doozy and he still hasn’t returned. He doesn’t know where he’s going, he has Alzheimer [sic]. There is a silver alert activated on him. Please help bump this post so we can locate and get him home safely.”

Almost identical posts appear in community groups for Bournemouth and Saffron Walden in Essex within days of each other. It’s also been shared in Facebook groups around the world, such as Trinidad and Tobago and across…

A hoax alert about an elderly missing man with dementia named Gerald has been shared more than 1,600 times in Facebook groups across the UK. 

Full Fact has seen examples of this post in social media groups serving Stockport (Greater Manchester), Grimsby (Lincolnshire), Staines (Surrey), Caerphilly (Wales), Folkestone (Kent), Harrogate (North Yorkshire), Port Talbot (Wales) and the Isle of Wight. 

The posts all use very similar text, with one example saying: “FLOOD YOUR FEEDS ~ MISSING!! in Stockport.

“Our Dad, Gerald Robertson aged 76 drove out last night with his dog Jack and he still hasn’t returned. He doesn’t know where he’s going, he has dementia. 

“There is a silver alert activated on him. Please help bump this post so we can get him home…

Hundreds of people have shared hoax appeals searching for a missing man with dementia named ‘George’ across the UK. 

Full Fact has seen examples searching for ‘George Smith’ shared in Yeovil and Nailsea in Somerset, Long Eaton in Derbyshire and Inverclyde, Scotland. The same images and text have also been used in hoax posts claiming to search for ‘George Wayne’ in Winchester (Hampshire), High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) and again in both Long Eaton and Inverclyde. Together, these posts have been shared more than 1,800 times. 

The posts all use near-identical text, which says: “FLOOD YOUR FEEDS ~ MISSING!! in[location]. 

“Our Dad, George Smith aged 74 drove out last night in his Toyota Hilux truck and he still hasn’t returned. He doesn’t know where…