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Snopes has encountered this false claim before. Repeatedly.
Published Jun 14, 2023
Claim:.
Facebook is planning to start implementing a monthly fee of $4.99 for its users.
Rating:.
Context.
At the moment, the company has not declared any intentions to impose fees for utilizing the platform itself, even though Meta did reveal in February 2023 that Facebook and Instagram users would have the choice to pay for verification badges on their profiles.
Facebook started circulating the claim in February 2023 that they would start charging $4.99 per month to utilize their platform on various social media platforms.
The initial post we discovered regarding the assertion was circulated on Feb. 8, 2023. In a pair of tweets, the individual stated:
So now there doing it, we just seen on Channel 13 News that Facebook is charging all user’s starting Monday. You can do a opt-out by this. Hold your fingers over and copy, it can’t be a share they will know: I do not give permission to Facebook to charge 4.99$ a month to my account, also; all my picture’s are property of myself and not Facebook.
So now there doing it, we just seen on Channel 13 News that Facebook is charging all user’s starting Monday. You can do a opt-out by this. Hold your fingers over and copy, it can’t be a share they will know:
I do not give permission to Facebook to charge 4.99$ a month to my acco
— Dylan Goodin (@dgoodin24) February 8, 2023
The claim started to circulate as copypasta in May 2023, with posts stating that Facebook would start charging users $4.99 per month “on Monday.” The posts also mentioned that users could avoid these charges by copying and pasting a notice to their accounts indicating that they did not authorize Facebook to charge them and that “all my pictures are my property and not Facebook.”
We also found a non-copypasta post repeating the claim on Facebook, asking if it was true that users would be charged $4.99 per month.
There is no proof that Meta will start demanding users $4.99 per month to utilize the platform, let alone by “Monday.”.
Previously, we reported that Meta has never announced any plans to charge Facebook users money in order for them to use the platform. According to the fact check in 2022, we first debunked this rumor.
Currently, the company informed us in February that the features which were available for users free of charge would no longer be provided. However, the spokesperson of the company mentioned that both social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, would still be free for non-verified users to use. It was also revealed that Meta had started charging users for verified accounts on Instagram and Facebook in several countries, including the United States, during the time of the publication.
We previously fact-checked false copypasta posts about a so-called “new Facebook/Meta rule” that supposedly allows the company to use photos posted on the platform without users’ permission in November 2021. We first found that claim false as of June 2012, making us familiar with the other claims made in the posts.
The copypasta posts mentioned a “Channel 13 news station” as the source for the claims. In June 2012, we fact-checked the copypasta posts that referenced “Channel 13 News”. However, there were no links to credible news stories about those claims from a “Channel 13 news station” in the posts, then or now.
The Sacramento News CBS claimed in July 2016 that they received a hoax about Facebook privacy, presenting it as an official source for fact-checking purposes.
All across the country in many different markets there’s a “channel 13” and chances are it has news on it. With no call letters or network attached to it, that should also raise concerns this might be a load of bunk.
Sources
CBS Sacramento. “Channel 13 News” Facebook Privacy Hoax Circulating Again.” CBS News Sacramento, 1 July 2016, https://www
Emery, David. “Does the ‘New Facebook/Meta Rule’ Allow the Company to Utilize Your Images?” Snopes, 15 Nov.
LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. “Will Meta Start Imposing Fees for Verified Accounts?” Snopes, 28 Feb.
Liles, Jordan. “‘Facebook Will Begin Charging This Summer’ Is an Outdated Deception.” Snopes, 14 Oct. 2022,
Mikkelson, Barbara. “Is Facebook Introducing User Charges?” Snopes, 31 Dec.
Mikkelson, David. “Can Posting This Notice Prevent Facebook or Instagram from Making Your Posts Public?” Snopes, 4 June 2012, https://www.Snopes.Com
Peters, Jay. “Paid Verification on Facebook and Instagram Launches in the United States.” The Verge, March 17, 2023, https
By Izz Scott LaMagdeleine
Izz Scott LaMagdeleine works as a fact-checker
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