Rugby star: Facebook story said I was dead
FACEBOOK was under fire last night for carrying an article that falsely claimed England rugby star James Haskell had died at the age of 31.
When shocked users clicked on the link – classified as ‘sponsored content’, meaning Facebook was paid to carry it – they were directed to an article that appeared to be on a reputable sports website.
It falsely claimed Haskell was under investigation for using a controversial fat-burning supplement – and urged readers to click on a further link to receive a free sample.
The scam is apparently part of an alarming trend using ‘fake news’ headlines to tempt social media users onto pages designed to get them to give personal details to fraudsters. Others subjected to similar hoaxes include the Queen, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Richard Branson.
But when Haskell, 32, contacted Facebook to report the ‘horrific’ bogus claims, which appeared last December, it ‘couldn’t have cared less’, he said yesterday. The US-based giant told him to contact the scam website instead, he told the Sunday Times. He is now calling for sites to be made legally responsible for posts it has been paid to promote. Facebook told the Sunday Times: ‘We are sorry James Haskell had such a distressing experience ... The con- tent ... was removed at the time. We will continue to work towards better transparency and accountability in our advertising products.’