Phony page spreads news of Walmart kidnapping in NC, cops say. It didn’t happen here
An alarming post claiming to be a “Sex Trafficking Alert” from the Facebook page “North Carolina Breaking News” warned of a kidnapping attempt at a Walmart in Greenville over the weekend.
Commenters claimed to have seen the suspect at the same location on earlier visits, a nearby pet supply store a few months ago, a Sheetz gas station on Monday and 140 miles away in Lumberton a few weeks back.
There was just one problem: it didn’t happen — at least not in North Carolina, police said Tuesday.
The Greenville Police Department tried to quell residents’ panic with a warning captioned “Let’s Talk About Fake News.”
“It’s a scary story,” police said on Facebook. “What’s even scarier... the incident described below never happened here yet it’s been shared locally more than 2,000 times.”
That number has climbed to more than 3,300 since it was posted Feb. 1.
According to the original post, a man pretending to work at a Walmart in Greenville accused a shopper of stealing before saying he’d follow her to her car “to make sure.”
The woman went to a Walmart associate instead, and store personnel reportedly escorted him out while police were on their way.
“North Carolina Breaking News” later commented on the post claiming law enforcement was looking for him.
But police in Greenville — home to about 93,000 residents and East Carolina University — did some digging of their own.
The story was true, they said. It just didn’t happen in North Carolina.
Roughly 700 miles away, the Kentucky New Era reported about a strikingly similar incident at a Hopkinsville Walmart on Jan. 31. Police had caught the suspect and he was speaking with detectives, according to the newspaper.
Greenville police found the article, calling it a “reputable news source” and urging residents to do their research “before assuming information you read online is true.”
“The bottom line is this: the administrators of sites like this are smart,” police said. “They know how to market themselves and what to post to garner shares and likes to their page.”
Under the “About” section on Facebook, “North Carolina Breaking News” lists itself as “Satire/Parody.” The page was created less than two weeks ago, on Jan. 24, according to the “Page Transparency” section.
Residents can always check with local law enforcement if they’re not sure about the validity of a post, according to Greenville police.
“Do us a favor...,” they concluded. “#sharethetruth”
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Phony page spreads news of Walmart kidnapping in NC, cops say. It didn’t happen here."
