HIGHLAND, Ill. — A person is facing charges after a Facebook post turned out to be “fake news.” The post claimed that an attempted abduction took place at the Highland Walmart. The person who started the rumor is now charged with disorderly conduct.
Highland Police say that someone posted the rumor about the attempted abduction on a community Facebook page on Friday. This alarmed a lot of people who called the police about it. There was no police report made to the Highland Police Department or any other law enforcement agency about something actually happening at the Walmart.
The person who started the rumor admitted to police that the information was made up, but it was never supposed to be posted to the public. The Highand Police Department
is asking anyone who uses social media to be careful about what you post. You can’t believe everything you see online. Not all information is fact-checked or vetted for accuracy.