The New Year on Facebook is starting out with an old lie: Zuckerberg, et. al., has free use of our photos and comments to do with as they wish, unless we cut and paste a message into our newsfeed. Bogus. Here’s the low-down from Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/computer/facebook/privacy.asp.

Of course, this is a hoax that doesn’t require a credit card number or access to bank accounts, so users may not see the big deal, but there is a price to be paid beyond the seconds it takes to cut and paste a block of text.

Muddying the waters with exaggeration, half-truths and downright fabrication is one of social media’s greatest accomplishments. Readers seem to vacillate from swallowing hook, line and sinker to building conspiracies so deep as to dispute Newton’s Third Law.

Where’s the balance? When do we post and when do we research? Blogger and social media strategist, Luvvie Ajayi, has a funny, clever but oh-so-useful response. Be educated and entertained: http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2014/06/5-things-fake-news-social-media.html.