Don't be fooled! The viral 'Goodbye Meta AI' message is a hoax

It's a hoax.

In early September, social media users started to share a viral statement on their Threads, Facebook and Instagram stories that was believed to be able to stop Meta from using their personal information as it desires.

The message, which was reportedly shared by more than 500,000 users, including actor Julianne Moore, started off with the words, “Goodbye Meta AI."

“Please note an attorney has advised us to put this on, failure to do so may result in legal consequences. As Meta is now a public entity all members must post a similar statement,” the message continues.

“If you do not post at least once it will be assumed you are okay with them using your information and photos. I do not give Meta or anyone else permission to use any of my personal data, profile information or photos.”

However, Lead Stories, aka Facebook's fact-checking partner since 2019, says the whole thing is a hoax. In fact, Lead Stories says the statement is a good example of copypasta, which refers to the way people spread misinformation on the internet by copying and pasting something that is not true.

"Does posting a statement ensure that users of Meta services will not have their data used in Meta’s artificial intelligence training? No, that’s not true: Posting the viral statement, or any other statement, doesn’t mean that Meta will not use that data for AI training, but users in Europe can object via a form in their account settings," Lead Stories said on its official website.

Former "American Idol" contestant and drag queen Ada Vox warned her followers to stop posting the false statement online because it may cause hackers to zone in on them.

"Everyone, please STOP posting that 'goodbye meta AI' BS," Vox wrote on Facebook. "Hackers use posts like that to target gullible and vulnerable people to find the easiest profiles to get into."

"Please stop being so naive, and become more aware of internet safety and security," Vox added. "You are only putting a target on your back for hackers by sharing and making those ridiculous posts. The people at the highest risk for this are the older generation, so if you see them posting that, let them know."

How did the 'Goodbye Meta AI' hoax start?

In September 2023, Meta announced it was launching new generative AI features like image editing and stickers that allowed users to enhance the way they converse with one another. However, Meta’s generative AI tends to gather its information from social media users' public posts and its interactions with the AI features.

Therefore, Meta notified European Facebook users in a press release that they can object to their data being used this way if they go to their Facebook settings and fill out an objection form. But Meta never released a statement that guaranteed that U.S users can do the same thing.

Due to this, The New York Times suggested that social media users should set their accounts to private if they don't want their personal information be used for A.I. services.

Fast forward to Sept 1., a user appeared to share the first hoax statement online on Facebook. Although some people called it out for being false, the BBC reports that some celebrities have fallen for the prank, including Ashley Tisdale, who has 16.1 million followers on Instagram, and Tom Brady, who has 15 million followers.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com