ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER celebrity post catching people out on Facebook.
Yesterday a Jennifer Aniston Facebook account shared a photo of the actress embracing a young woman and a heartwarming status about helping a homeless teenager.
I was day tripping to Vancouver from Seattle and stopped in for lunch at a little cafe. From my window I saw a young teenage girl out in the cold, squatted down in a closed up business doorway, holding a small bundle in her arms. She was panhandling, people were mostly walking by ignoring her.
I finished up my meal and went outside, went through my wallet and thought I’d give her $5 for some food. I got up to her and she was sobbing, she looked like she was 14-15. And that bundle in her arms was a baby wrapped up.
The status then described how Aniston put the homeless teenager back in contact with her mother, gave her $100 and ensured she got the bus home to her family.
I get a christmas card every year from her. She’s 21 now and in college. Her name is Alice and her baby was Joe. I’ve never really told anyone about this. I just feel good knowing I did something good in this world.
The status ended with a plea for people to “be the change you want to see in the world”.
The status has been shared over 70,000 times and received over 450,000 reactions on Facebook with people praising Aniston for her kind gesture.
Thank you for your compassion Jennifer. We need more people to step up with good deeds for people in need.
Only problem? It’s all a big hoax.
The story was actually yanked from a Reddit thread called “What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done that no one knows about?”
Furthermore, the account in question is not an official Jennifer Aniston account.
It’s a fanpage that regularly shares links to “viral” articles like”15 Stars Who We’re Pretty Sure Found The Fountain of Youth” as well as photos of Jennifer Aniston accompanied by inspirational quotes.
The page has 545,000 likes, but makes clear that it is not affiliated with Aniston.
There are no regrets in life, just lessons.Welcome to Jennifer Aniston FAN PAGE. We post what we read about her. Not related to her.
Oh, okay then.
The viral status also contains a sneaky stipulation at the bottom that this is not a story about Jennifer Aniston.
P.S- This story is not related to any celebrity and the person in the picture is just a wonderful fan and it’s not related to her but a story worth sharing!
Very clever, guys.
A rep for Aniston told Buzzfeed that Aniston is not active on social media and confirmed that the actress has nothing to do with the story doing the rounds on Facebook.
This is not the first time that Facebook users have been duped by inspirational posts purported to have been shared by celebrities.
Back in September, posts sent by unofficial Kate Winslet and Scarlett Johansson pages went insanely viral and led women to share no make-up selfies. Those, too, were fake.
Always look for that blue tick, lads.
