... Facebook will still be free! Because this text is a chain letter!
We received inquiries about the following status post circulating on Facebook:

ATTENTION: Tomorrow morning when you log in to Facebook you will receive payment information... it's official... it was even in the news. Facebook will now charge fees…because of the cost of the profiles. If you post this text as your status, your status icon will turn blue and Facebook will be free for you...
Copy this text as your status
The fact check
As colleague Ralf already knew in June 2016, this text can safely be classified in the chain letters category.
This text can be found in English as early as 2011 and even back then the announcement that Facebook would become paid was purely a fantasy story. Since then, however, the text can be found again and again on Facebook in a modified form, as extracted fragments or with new instructions - namely as a chain letter.
Nevertheless, let's take a closer look at the text:
It was on the news?
Apparently we're reading the wrong news sites because there was no word or word anywhere that Facebook will be paid for "starting tomorrow." Nevertheless, many users seem to be unsettled and copy this text as a status, according to the motto “Better safe than sorry”.When is “from tomorrow”?
Depending on when this text is read... and this “from tomorrow” has been around since 2011, as our colleagues at Hoax-Slayer reported back then. But even if the text went around in different versions, even sometimes with dates and other reasons, for example with Facebook's IPO back then, one thing has never changed: Facebook is still free.
(*Original text Ralf N.)
Long before this chain letter, Facebook itself was also forced to clear up the rumors about “paid Facebook” .
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg had to testify before the US Congress in the wake of the data scandal at the beginning of April 2018 and the discussion about a paid subscription model arose, but no fee will come up any time soon. Zuckerberg still thinks the ad-supported version is the best.
Facebook is and will remain a free website for the time being.
However, you have the option to make purchases related to games, apps, and other items. If you choose to use Facebook from your mobile phone, remember that you are responsible for any charges associated with internet use and/or texting according to your mobile provider's terms and conditions. (Source: Facebook help section )
What exactly is a chain letter?
Chain letters used to be sent by post and back then they were really “letters”. Today, chain letters spread via email, on Facebook (and other social media channels) or on WhatsApp.
You are always asked to copy the letter and send it to many recipients. This also partly plays on the fear of the recipient, because you either have to pay something or even die if you break the chain.
Users are therefore put under moral pressure to forward the respective message.
What is the use of a chain letter and what are they used for?
Chain letters serve different purposes:
- Disseminate messages, for example calls for donations, false virus warnings, religious or political texts
- Collect email addresses (spam, phishing)
- Starting and maintaining games
- Fraud attempts (Make Money Fast)
- Disruption of communication services (e.g. email)
- Harassment of institutions or people (stalking, bullying)
- surreptitious advertising
Result:
Facebook will not be charged.
The instructions in the text could safely be ignored.
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Notes:
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