Tag Archives: posts

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…

Food delivery app Zomato has finally turned profitable, reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 2 crore for the quarter ended June 2023.

Great surge in revenue

It reported a loss of Rs 189 crore in the quarter ended March.

However, revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,416 crore, up nearly 71% YoY against Rs 1,414 crore reported in the year-ago period.

Blinkit turns positive

The company said that Blinkit, the quick commerce business it owns, has turned contributive positive for the first time ever in the month of June.

The adjusted revenue excluding the quick commerce business stood at Rs 2,402 crore which was up 33% YoY.

Gross order value

Gross order value (GOV) went up to Rs 7,318 crore as opposed to Rs 6,425 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

It also…

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…

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 number of posts on Facebook wrongly claim to have identified a Metropolitan Police officer who attended an incident in London on 7 May where two dogs were shot dead by police. These posts have been shared thousands of times. 

The posts, which have also appeared on Twitter, compare two images—on the left a blurry photo of a police officer holding a gun, and to the right a clearer portrait of a man. 

However these are not the same man. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that the man facing the camera in the clearer photograph on the right-hand side of the post is not a police officer and had no involvement with the incident. 

Full Fact has also spoken to the wrongly-identified man, who told us that he has never worked for the police force, lives in Nottingham…