Over 600,000 people, including celebrities like James McAvoy, Ashley Tisdale, and Tom Brady, have been tricked by a fake message claiming to stop Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, from using their photos for AI training.
This hoax, called “Goodbye Meta AI,” suggests that by sharing the message, users can prevent Meta from accessing their information.
However, the reality is that users can opt out of AI training directly in their account settings, and sharing this message does not help at all.
Meta confirmed to the BBC that simply posting about it won’t change anyone’s privacy settings, stating, “Sharing this story does not count as a valid form of objection.”
The trend started from a Facebook post on September 1, but it gained traction when many high-profile accounts shared it recently, leading to a surge in searches for “Goodbye Meta AI.”
This isn’t the first time social media has seen such misleading messages, often referred to as “copypasta,” where a block of text gets shared repeatedly. Fact-checkers like Snopes have pointed out that similar claims have circulated before without any effect on users’ privacy.
It’s unusual to see so many famous accounts fall for this hoax, which shows how easily misinformation can spread online. Recently, LinkedIn also faced backlash for planning to use public posts for AI training, leading them to reverse that decision in the UK【BBC】.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4d5jjqg2qo