A student from College Station, Texas, is facing significant online backlash after a fabricated story circulated on social media, claiming she was an Olive Garden waitress who threw breadsticks at customers. The viral post featured a mugshot of Megan Ashlee Davis, a 26-year-old who was arrested in August for public intoxication following a night out. Davis stated that the misuse of her image and the subsequent harassment have negatively impacted her life.
The fake narrative, created by the Facebook account “Pure Videos,” attracted over 1.7 million followers, despite being based on falsehoods. Although the story took place in a different location and did not include Davis’s name, individuals were able to identify her online and started targeting her with inappropriate comments. Olive Garden released a statement clarifying that Davis does not work for them and that the described incident never occurred.
As of Sunday, the original post had either been removed or made private, yet copies continue to circulate across various social media platforms, intensifying the harassment through ongoing commentary. Notably, Meta, which owns Facebook, ceased using third-party fact-checking in the U.S. earlier this year, contributing to the rise of similar fabricated stories on the platform.
- Why it matters: The incident highlights the dangers of misinformation on social media platforms, affecting individuals’ reputations and mental health. It raises questions about the responsibility of social media companies to manage fake content.
- The latest: As of now, copies of the original fake post continue to emerge across Facebook and X, amplifying the ongoing harassment faced by Davis.
Source: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/woman-breaks-silence-viral-post-154557777.html
Source: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/woman-breaks-silence-viral-post-154557777.html