Every so often, a social media post goes viral, suggesting users need to post it to protect themselves for various reasons, mostly privacy releated.
It's happened again -- this time on Instagram.
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A lengthy Instagram note shared by several celebrities saying that users' posts can be used against them in court due to a change in the company's rules is a hoax, Instagram said.
The post went viral this week after it was shared by a host of stars and public figures, including Usher, Julia Roberts, Josh Brolin, Taraji P. Henson and even U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry. A few deleted it after learning it was bogus.
The message, filled with grammatical errors and randomly bolded text, said that anything users have posted on Instagram, including deleted photos and messages, was "now public" and "can be used in court cases in litigation against you."
The note urged users to copy and paste "a note like this" as legal protection.
"There’s no truth to this post," an Instagram spokesperson told Market Watch.