MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) – Authorities are warning Mt. Juliet residents about a post circulating on social media that targets people by using a fake photo about a missing child.
The fake posts have been popping up in various Facebook community groups locally and nationwide, according to the Mt. Juliet Police Department.
Officials said the post intends to pull at the heartstrings of users and get a lot of shares by providing false information regarding a missing five-year-old child.
The post, which has been published by multiple Facebook accounts, claims the five-year-old was last seen in various locations and an AMBER Alert has been issued. Police said this is entirely fake.
In fact, the department provided a few tips that can quickly help users determine if a social media post is legitimate or not:
- Look at where the post came from, and figure out if it’s a source you can trust.
- See if the user is local or not.
- Search the body of the text (remove the city name). If the post is false, many other fake posts with the same text and pictures will be revealed.
The Mt. Juliet Police Department emphasized that if there is ever any reports regarding a missing person or a threat to the community, officials will post about it through the department’s many communication channels.
