It’s disconcerting that it bears repeating, but here goes: Facebook is never going to donate to some cause based on how many times you share a status. End of story.

But that simple fact still floats over the heads of many users, who continue to share hoax statuses and clog up everyone’s news feeds with rubbish.

Today’s hoax making the rounds involves a story about a young boy who needs money for a life saving surgery. According to the hoax status, he was shot by his stepfather, who was attempting to rape the boy’s 6-year-old sister. It’s reminiscent of another hoax spread around back in 2011.

Here’s the full text of the hoax:

A 14 YEAR OLD BOY WAS SHOT 6 TIMES BY HIS STEPFATHER. THIS BOY WAS PROTECTING HIS LITTLE 6 YEAR OLD SISTER WHO WAS ABOUT TO BE RAPED BY THIS POOR… EXCUSE OF A MAN. THE LITTLE GIRL DID GET HURT, THANKS TO HER BRAVE OLDER BROTHER. THEIR MOM WAS AT WORK WHEN THIS HAPPENED. NOW THIS BRAVE YOUNG LITTLE BOY IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE,BUT DOCTORS SAY HE WILL NOT SURVIVE UNLESS HE GETS AN OPERATION WHICH IS COSTLY AND HIS MOM CANNOT PAY. FACEBOOK COMPANIES HAVE AGREED TO DONATE 45 CENTS FOR EVERY TIME SOMEONE SHARE THIS MESSAGE SO, PLEASE CLICK SHARE SO THAT TOGETHER WE CAN HELP SAVE THIS BOUS LIFE……NSFTBC! If you had a heart you’d do it, It will only take a minute of your time!

Sad story, right? Fortunately, it’s untrue and sharing it will do nothing except make you appear daft to your friends.

There are numerous ways in which users can spot a hoax like this and nip it before it has a chance to take off. First, like I said before, Facebook isn’t in the habit or donating money to causes on a per-share basis. Second, the status contains no link to a real news story, a donation page, or an official Facebook post. And lastly, just look at it.

[via Sophos]