Social media websites have certainly taken the art of online hoaxes to an all-new level. Most of these hoaxes are simply a way to gain fame and publicity by lending false hopes to common users. So was the case when a Facebook user claimed that he is among the winners of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot.
Only last week, the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot was announced. Apparently making use of the opportunity, a Facebook user Nolan Daniels put up a image claiming that he is among the winners and has bagged a cool $239 million. He even uploaded an image showing him holding up the lottery ticket which won him the big money.
In his status, he also asked other people to share the news, citing that among those who share the status, he will give $1 million to a random person. What is amazing is that soon, hundreds of thousands of people had shared the status!
As of now, the status has been shared nearly 2 million times!! Apparently, it is fairly easy to con the Facebook users at large who have been fervently sharing the status in the hopes that they may be able to get a bite of this win. And what is even more comical is the fact that Daniels’ claim is untrue and he is not among the winners of the Powerball jackpot.
People have posted pleading message on his status update, asking him to kindly consider them for the random hand-out. It is absurd and yet its is very real – an average Facebook user would fall for a hoax even when it is so obvious as this one.
Courtesy: PC Mag
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