Rick Perry Falls for Instagram privacy hoax

US Secretary Rick Perry, tasked with overseeing the vast US nuclear arsenal as head of the energy department, was a hoax on Instagram Tuesday.

In what is essentially the Instagram version of the transmission of a chain email, the former Texas governor, 69, has republished a screenshot of a message claiming falsely that the social media company changed its privacy policy and made public the messages of all users, including deleted messages. He also suggested that the company could somehow "use your photos".

The message also incorrectly claims that any Instagram user who opposes the change may republish the message in order to stop the company.

"With this statement, I point out to Instagram that it is strictly forbidden to divulge, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on this profile and / or its content," reads the message.

"Instagram does not have permission to share photos or messages," he concluded.

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The message was posted on his personal account, @governorperry, as well as on his Twitter account. He also has a separate account, @secretaryperry, to present his official government work with the Department of Energy.

One of Facebook's spokespeople, Instagram's parent company, told BuzzFeed News: "There is no truth in this message."

The variations of this hoax have become viral over the years in relation to different social platforms. As early as 2012, an almost identical message – complete with the same reference to a non-existent "Channel 13 News" report – became viral about Facebook, prompting the company to publicly demystify the "same copyright":

A rumor circulates that Facebook makes a change related to the ownership of user information or content that they post on the site. It's wrong. Anyone using Facebook owns and controls the content and information that it publishes, as stipulated in our Terms and Conditions. They control how content and information are shared. It is our policy, and it has always been.

Perry was not the only one to crack the hoax this week; A number of celebrities have also republished the hoax to their millions of followers, further spreading misinformation.

Julia Roberts, Debra Messing, Usher and Julianne Moore were among the stars who cracked for it.

After posting the fake meme, Perry was ridiculed as gullible on social media.

"I would like to introduce you to a Nigerian prince," read a comment on Instagram.

"How on earth are you responsible for the energy department when you fall in love with the version of the messaging channel on social networks," reads again.

When Perry accepted the offer to join Donald Trump's cabinet as an energy secretary, he would have misunderstood the duties of the role, mistakenly assuming that he would oversee the regulation of oil and gas. some gas. In fact, the department is primarily concerned with the maintenance of US nuclear weapons.

When he unsuccessfully presented to the presidency in 2011, he could not remember at a primary debate the name of the Department of Energy, which it was Was committed to eliminating as well as two others. "Sorry," he said. Oops."

The secretary obviously realized his mistake after his ticket Tuesday night, commenting soon, "OMG …. seriously, you mean it's wrong!"

"I'll be cursed !!" he added. "The first time I saw something fake on the internet !! ??."

Representatives of the Ministry of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.